
I 
i 



I 



I 

\ 



THE 

BOY'S OWN GUIDE 

T O 

GOOD PRINCIPLES, HABITS AND' MANNERS. 



BY WILLIAM SIMON DS, 

AUTHOR OP " THE SINNER'S FRIEND," " THOUGHTS FOR THE 
THOUGHTLESS," ETC., ETC. 



" Few boys are born with talents that excel, 
But all are capable of living well."— Coioper. 



Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
approved by the Committee of Publication. 




BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository, No. 13 CornMll. 




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, 

By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



INTRODUCTION. 



TO PARENTS, GUARDIANS AND TEACHERS. 

Tins volume is intended more especially for boys 
between the ages of ten and sixteen years, though 
perhaps it will be found not altogether unsuitable 
for those who have not yet reached, or have advanced 
a little beyond, this stage of youth. The aim of the 
writer has been, to hold up the character and habits 
of the well-behaved boy, as a model for the imitation 
of his readers, and to point out the various dangers, 
temptations and trials peculiar to this most interesting 
and critical period of life. The complaint has been 
made, — and, it appears to us, not entirely without 
reason, — that the moral wants of lads have received 
less attention than those of most other classes of the 
community. Hitherto, there seems to have been less 
direct and specific efFurt made in their behalf than the 
exigencies of the case demand. In too many instances, 



iv 



INTRODUCTION. 



it is to be feared, their heads have been educated at 
the expense of their hearts ; readiDg and spelling 
have been deemed of more importance than justice 
and virtue, and the ability to recite a good lesson 
been more highly praised than the accomplishments 
of good behavior. 

As a natural result of this neglect, our ears have 
become weary with complaints of ill-bred and ungov- 
ernable lads, — of youthful immorality, and precocious 
vice, and juvenile crime. This is especially true of 
our large towns and cities, where we have grown but 
too familiar with the sight of " pale, haggard-looking 
boys, trying their best to break their fathers' hearts ;" 
and where a conscription, more terrible than that of 
Poland, is decimating our fairest households, and 
annually sweeping into the ranks of vice and crime, 
with startling regularity, no small proportion of the 
youthful strength and beauty of the land. The Rev. 
Orville Dewey, of Washington, in a recent discourse 
on Obedience, which has been published, and has 
attracted considerable attention throughout the coun- 
try, remarks : — 

" Are you not struck with the new character 
which childhood and youth are putting on among 
us 7 Think of such a fact as this ! According to the 



INTRODUCTION. 



V 



presentment of a Grand Jury this year, in one of our 
cities,* four-fifths of the complaints have been against 
minors ! and full two-thirds of all the complaints for 
crime acted on, during a late law-term, have been 
against persons between the ages of fourteen and 
twenty-one ! But it is not necessary to go so far for 
examples. In this very service which we now hold, 
it will not be strange, if some rude sounds from with- 
out shall give disagreeable evidence of the state of 
manners around us. I have lived two years in the 
cities of Continental Europe — Catholic cities — and, I 
say advisedly, that I witness every Sunday ten times 
as much noise and disorder in these streets, as I ever 
witnessed there. There is a lesson upon our danger, 
in large print, to be read by nightly conflagrations ; f 
and it must be read and acted on, or worse will come. 
And it is not in cities alone, but all over the country, 
I see the evils of an undisciplined youth. It must be 
disciplined. Age, and manhood, and paternity, and 
magistracy, must speak to it, and must be heard." 
Another American writer, who has recently traveled 

* New York. 

t The allusion is to frequent fires in the city of Washington, com- 
monly attributed to boy-incendiaries. 
1* 



vi 



INTRODUCTION. 



extensively in Europe, asserts that the juvenile 
depravity of New York exceeds any thing he witnessed 
abroad. Nor are all these victims of early ruin the 
children of the vicious, the ignorant and the emigrant. 
There are, alas, too many Elis, and Samuels, and 
Davids, and Josiahs, among us, in our secluded villages 
as well as great cities, whose sons walk not in the 
ways of their fathers, but " go astray after other 
gods." The evil is wide-spread and general, and calls 
imploringly for a remedy. Should this volume con- 
tribute, in the humblest degree, to this desirable end, 
— should it assist some parent or teacher in incul- 
cating those pure and lofty principles which are the 
only safeguard against temptation, — should it aid 
some lad in the acquisition of good morals and good 
manners, and help him to escape the manifold dangers 
that beset the pathway of early life, — the purpose for 
which it was written will have been answered, and 
great will be the reward of 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

L INTRODUCTORY ON RECEIVING 

ADVICE 1 

II. PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. ... 9 

III. OBEDIENCE 27 

IY. AFFECTION 40 

V. GENEROSITY SELFISHNESS. . . 53 

YI. HONESTY • . 62 

VII. TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. ... 80 

VIII. AIMS AND PURPOSES 93 

IX. STUDIOUSNESS 105 

X. INDUSTRY 126 

XI. PERSEVERANCE 143 

XII. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 156 

XIII. FIDELITY TO TRUSTS 164 

XIV. ORDER AND SYSTEM. . . . .172 
XV. CAREFULNESS 179 



Viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVI. FRUGALITY 187 

XVII. GOOD MANNERS 197 

XVIII. PERSONAL APPEARANCE. . . .208 

XIX. THE LOVE OF HOME 220 

XX. COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. . .231 

XXI. AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. . 243 

XXII. MISCHIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 254 

XXIII. AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. . . .265 

XXIV. PRIDE AND SHAME 276 

XXV. TEMPER 291 

XXVI. VULGARITY, OBSCENITY AND PRO- 

EANENESS 309 

XXVII. THE THEATRE 323 

XXVIII. GAMBLING 339 

XXIX. CARE OF THE BODY 348 

XXX. VARIOUS COUNSELS 357 

XXXI. RELIGION ITS NECESSITY. . . . 373 

XXXII. RELIGION ITS NATURE AND 

DUTIES 389 



THE 



BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. ON RECEIVING ADVICE. 

Starting right — The author only an adviser — What he 
expects to do — Oliver in the city — How he found his way 
about — Advice a substitute for experience — Application 
of the illustration — Gaining experience without advice — 
Its danger— The true way to acquire wisdom— Impatience 
of advice — No guide needed in the path of sin — How 
advice should be received — Its importance — Yielding to 
good advice not unmanly—A noble trait. 

My Dear Young Friends : — 

Your experience, brief as it is, has doubtless 
taught you, that even in the smallest undertak- 
ings of life, a great deal depends upon starting 
right. A good ending can hardly be expected 
1 



2 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



from a bad beginning. At the outset, then, of 
my little book, I must see that you start right in 
its perusal. To secure this desirable object, per- 
haps I ought to say a few words on the manner of 
receiving advice ; for I hardly need remark, that, 
while talking with you on the principles and 
habits you are about to adopt, I shall only act 
the part of an adviser. I do not come with the 
authority of the parent or the teacher, but shall 
only aim to influence your course by good counsel 
and advice. It is of the first importance, there- 
fore, that we understand each other as to the 
manner in which this advice shall be given and 
received. 

As to my part, in this mutual contract, I will 
only say, that I shall fancy before me a group of 
respectful and attentive lads, to whom I shall 
address such counsels as I deem most important, 
in such a manner as I think will be most likely 
to secure their attention and assent. I shall try 
to give no bad or even doubtful or useless advice ; 
but in all faithfulness and affection, shall strive to 
point out the good and the evil in the characters 
and dispositions of youth. 

Some years ago a boy named Oliver went from 
the country to Boston, to engage in the service of 
a merchant. At first, his duties consisted princi- 



ON RECEIVING ADVICE. 



3 



jDally in carrying packages and messages to vari- 
ous parts of the city, and he was greatly puzzled 
to find his way about, so numerous and so crooked 
were the streets. Sometimes, before starting, he 
would look at a map of the city which hung in 
the store, and endeavor to trace out his course ; 
at others, his employer would direct him minutely 
as to the way. By keeping in mind the informa- 
tion thus obtained, and with the aid of the little 
signs containing the names of the streets which 
he found at most of the corners, he generally 
managed to find the place he sought ; and if he 
was ever in doubt, an inquiry addressed to some 
passer-by would soon set him right. Thus, in a 
few weeks, all the difficulties vanished, and in 
sending him on an errand, it was only necessary 
to give him the name and number of the street, 
and he would find it by the shortest route. 

Oliver's difficulties, you will perceive, arose 
entirely from his want of experience ; and he 
found a temporary substitute for this, in advice. 
The map, the street signs, and the directions 
which he received, were all so many forms of 
advice, and aided him in his travels, and saved 
him from many fruitless steps, until he obtained 
a knowledge of the streets, or, in other words, 
gained experience. 



4 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



When you came into the world you were situ- 
ated very much as Oliver was when he began to 
live in the city. All around you were avenues 
and paths, leading in every direction ; some to 
virtue, and some to vice ; some to usefulness, and 
some to w T orthlessness ; some to sorrow, and some 
to happiness. You cannot always remain in the 
spot where you were born, but after the period 
of infancy, you must begin to walk in some of 
these roads, although you know very little about 
them. Now will you go forth into the world and 
blunder your way about, into the good and evil, 
until you acquire experience ? or will you accept 
the advice of those who know something of the 
way, and follow their directions ? The first 
would be a very slow process. It would require 
many years to obtain a general experience of the 
world in this way. In our country the law sup- 
poses that twenty-one years are necessary to give 
a boy sufficient experience to act for himself ; 
and it is not till he reaches that age, that he is 
legally released from the control of his parents, 
or permitted to vote. Should a boy go forth into 
the world, to explore it for himself, without any 
assistance from experienced persons, I suppose he 
would need more than twenty-one years to com- 
plete his work. But this is a very small objec- 



ON RECEIVING- ADVICE. 



0 



tion, compared with, another which I must bring 
against such an experiment. So great are the 
dangers to the inexperienced, on every hand, that 
the person who should determine to acquire ex- 
perience without the aid of others, would almost 
inevitably be ruined in the attempt. The paths 
of sin and vice are most enticing to the natural 
heart ; and should he enter but one of them, he 
would soon be led into others, — for they are all 
closely connected. 

But you may save yourself all this trouble 
and danger, and in time acquire a valuable 
experience, too, by occasionally taking a little 
good advice from those who are better acquaint- 
ed with the world than you are. Consult your 
chart, look at the signs upon the street cor- 
ners, and inquire the way of others when you 
are in doubt, and the right path will soon become 
clear. The Bible is the chart ; your parents and 
religious friends are those of whom you should 
inquire for more particular instructions ; and, if 
you please, you may consider my humble coun- 
sels as " street signs," put up at the corners, to 
guide the young stranger into the right path, and 
to warn him from those avenues that lead to 
death. 

I am sorry to say, that the young are some- 



6 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE, 



times impatient of advice, though I hope the 
remark will apply to none of you. They think 
too highly of their own ability to distinguish 
betweeen good and evil, and do not like to have 
any one interfere with their choice. This arises 
from ignorance and inexperience — exactly those 
imperfections which make advice very necessary 
in their case. Those who are most restless under 
good advice, are always the very persons who 
need it most. If a boy is fully bent on pursuing 
the way of sin, he will need no advice to enable 
him to find that way, or to follow it to the end. 
Like some of the most frequented routes through 
the great deserts of the east, he will find his 
course marked by a white line of bleached bones, 
ever extending before and behind him — the sad 
relics of those who have perished on the dismal 
road he is treading. But if he aspires to the 
path of rectitude and virtue, he will often feel 
the need of advice, which will be to him as the 
beacon to the mariner, or the guide-book to the 
traveler. 

Advice should be received by youth with re- 
spectful attention, when it comes from those who 
are wiser and older than themselves. Mere 
politeness requires this, for it would be uncivil 
not to listen when addressed by superiors. But 



ON RECEIVING ADVICE. 7 

you must not stop here. Having listened to 
counsel with, patience, you should follow and 
obey it, unless it is plainly contrary to the Bible, 
or to your conscience, or to your own past expe- 
rience. " We may give advice," says Franklin, 
" but we cannot give conduct." This last and 
all-important requisite must depend wholly upon 
yourself. 

Could you look into the secret histories of the 
best and most eminent men that have ever lived, 
you would find that much if not all of their 
excellence was owing to their heeding wise coun- 
sels in their youth. And on the other hand, you 
will find that our prisons and resorts of vice are 
crowded with those who scorned advice in their 
early years. Let it, then, be the determination 
of every lad who reads these pages, to open his 
heart to whatever good advice may be offered for 
his consideration. Without this the book can 
accomplish no useful purpose. And what I ask 
for myself, I would also bespeak for your parents, 
your teachers, your elder brothers and sisters, 
and all who may wish to advise and counsel 
you. 

It is a great mistake to suppose that there is 
any thing unmanly or humiliating in being guided 
by the advice of others. We all, at times, stand 



8 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



in need of advice. The lawyer seeks the advice 
of the mechanic, about the mending of a carriage, 
or the building of a house ; and the mechanic 
goes to the lawyer, to be advised about the legal- 
ity of a deed or a contract. The advice of the 
clergyman and the physician is sought by the old 
and the wise, not less than by the young and 
unlearned ; and sometimes a whole nation is 
swayed and controlled by the advice of the far- 
seeing statesman. As wise a man as David once 
had occasion to say to a woman, " Blessed be thy 
advice ;" 1 Sam. 25 : 33 ; and his wise son says 
9 to us, " Hear counsel, and receive instruction, 
that thou mayst be wise in thy latter end." Prov. 
19 : 20. There is nothing mean-spirited or un- 
manly in this — on the contrary, it is the mark of 
a noble mind, to appreciate and profit by good 
advice. Let my readers bear this in mind, as 
they follow me through the successive pages of 
this book ; and if they find any hint, caution or 
counsel worthy of being heeded, let them see to 
it that no unworthy motive prevents their com- 
pliance with it. " With the well-advised is 
wisdom." Prov. 13 : 10. 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 9 



CHAPTER II. 

PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 

A definition— Eelation between habits and principles — 
Habits determined in early life— Linnaeus, Moliere, Frank- 
lin and Girard— Habits acquired gradually — How they 
grow upon us — The Scotch thistle — Slavery to evil habits 
— Southey's description — No evil deed can be recalled — 
The nail holes in the wall — Mirabeau's regrets — Force of 
early habits — Alexander, Lord Loughborough and Frank- 
lin — Nothing can fill the place of good habits — Mrs. 
Adams' advice to her son — Lord Brougham's testimony — 
The critical period of life — Importance of good principles 
in early life — The boys out at sea — Weeds in the heart, 
and their remedy. 

Those of my readers who have studied the Latin 
language, will remember the word habeo, the 
meaning of which is, " to have, to hold." It 
is from this word that our English substantive 
habit is derived. The primary or most direct 
meaning of habit, is a garb, or dress ; but this is 
not the sense in which the word is used at the 
head of this chapter, though this definition will 
help us towards the one we are seeking. Our 



10 THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



moral or immoral habits may perhaps be termed 
the garb of the mind, as they are closely allied 
to it, though not strictly a part of it. They are 
something that we " have or hold," but which 
we were not born with. To give an exact defini- 
tion, a habit is " a disposition, or condition of 
the mind or body, acquired by custom or a fre- 
quent repetition of the same act." It has been 
truly said, that " man is a bundle of habits," and 
yet we are not born with them, neither are we 
compelled to assume them against our will. We 
adopt our habits knowingly and willingly, or 
else we suffer ourselves to fall into them, without 
caring for or noticing the matter at all. In 
either case we are responsible for the result. 

Now we know that every thing has a source or 
origin. The springs or sources of the various 
moral habits just alluded to, are what we call 
principles. This word is also derived from a 
Latin term, signifying the beginning, or original, 
and is used to express that which is believed, 
whether true or not, and which serves as a rule 
of action. Our principles are the source and 
origin of all our deeds. When a man deceives, 
cheats or injures another, we say he is a man of 
bad principles ; for one whose principles are good 
could not fall into these evil habits. The boy 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 11 



who is not very particular about his principles, 
but who means to clo as he pleases, without 
regard to the golden rule of right, will inevitably 
become the victim of vicious habits. Our prin- 
ciples are the foundation stones of our characters, 
and if they are not firm and sound, the whole 
edifice will be weak. To vary the figure, our prin- 
ciples may be compared to the roots of a tree, 
unseen, but the source of life ; while our habits 
are like the branches, conspicuous to the world, 
but dependent upon the roots for their existence. 
The reader will please to remember this latter 
comparison, as he reads the present chapter ; 
and when the word habit is used, he will keep in 
mind the root as well as the branch. " As a man 
thinketh in his heart, so is he." Prov. 23 : 7. 

Most of our habits, and, indeed, the founda- 
tions of our characters, are determined in early 
life. Indeed, it may be said to be the great 
business of childhood and youth to form habits, 
and a most important business it is. The work 
is often done before we are aware of the import- 
ance of the results we are accomplishing. A 
poor Swedish clergyman had a little flower gar- 
den, in which he cultivated all the flowers which 
his means or his taste could select. Into his 
flower garden he introduced his little son from 



12 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



infancy ; and this little garden undoubtedly cre- 
ated that taste in this child which afterwards 
made him the first botanist and naturalist of his 
age, if not his race; for it was the celebrated 
Linnaeus who was thus brought up from infancy 
among flowers. A French gentleman was very 
fond of taking his little grandson with him to 
witness the plays at the theatre. The lad thus 
acquired such a taste for the stage, that in after 
life, though educated to the science of law, he 
forsook his profession, and devoted his life, first 
to acting and then to writing plays. This lad 
was Moliere, one of the most celebrated of French 
poets. I do not mention him to commend his 
profession, but simply to illustrate the power of 
early habit ; for the principle is the same, what- 
ever the habit may be. Whether we aim at 
fame, wealth, learning, or excellence of character, 
we must form habits agreeable to the object sought 
or we shall fail. The studious habits which 
Franklin formed when an apprentice-boy, made 
him in after life the philosopher and statesman. 
The formation of early habits of frugality and 
self-denial, made Grirard the richest man of his 
times. History is full of similar illustrations of 
the power of early habit. 

The process by which we form our characters, 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



13 



is generally a slow one. Neither a bad nor a 
good habit can be formed in a day ; for a habit, 
like a great cable, is composed of a multitude of 
little strands, all united and twisted together. 
A habit of lying is not formed, until there have 
been many falsehoods uttered. A habit of polite- 
ness is the result of many separate acts of cour- 
tesy and kindness. " All the steps between two 
distant cities are small, one by one," says Rev. 
Dr. Cheever, " but the journey is a great thing. 
All the revolutions made by the wheels of a great 
steamer are small, one by one, but the motion is 
mighty, and the progress great. All the coral 
insects of the sea are helpless and almost invisi- 
ble, one by one, yet the aggregate of their indi- 
vidual work and deposit may construct islands 
and continents, that shall rise from the ocean to 
remain till the globe perishes. All the evapora- 
tions from the sea and the land are in particles 
of moisture, insensible one by one, yet the 
streams that water the earth, the sounding cata- 
racts and mighty rivers, are sustained by the 
process. All the thoughts, words, and actions of 
a man may be minute and common-place, undis- 
tinguished, each by each, for any thing remark- 
ably good, or remarkably evil ; and yet, the 
result is character for eternity." 

2 



14 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



But we should remember that, although our 
habits are formed early, and often imperceptibly, 
because by slow degrees, yet they are continually 
growing upon us. The boy who has just con- 
quered the disgust which nature implanted in his 
being against that filthy weed, tobacco, has only 
to persist in its use a little while, and it will not 
only cease to be disagreeable to him, but will 
actually become pleasant to his taste ; and after 
one or two years' regular use of the weed, he will 
find it very hard to live without it. So it is with 
all immoral habits. They are like certain plants, 
the roots of which spread in the earth so fast that 
the husbandman cannot extirpate them. He may 
cut them down and dig them up, and think he has 
subdued them, but soon they spring up again, to 
mock his efforts, and to vex his soul. 

Some years ago a Scotch emigrant to Van 
Dieman's Land carried with him to that distant 
colony a package of thistle-seed. The thistle, 
you know, is the national emblem of Scotland, as 
the rose is of England, and the shamrock of 
Ireland ; and when the Scotchman and his friends 
saw this familiar emblem of their native land 
blooming around their new homes, they almost 
wept with joy over the recollections it brought 
to their hearts of their fatherland. " The seed," 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



15 



says a colonist, " was liberally supplied to friends 
far and near, and soon the down was seen soaring 
over the hills of Tasmania, bearing the seed in 
its flight, and the thistle was no longer a stranger 
in this our adopted country. But, mark the 
result ! The thistle soon manifested herself an 
usurper, and took possession of the soil, to the 
exclusion of the native grasses and herbs. In a 
few years the colonists began to take the alarm. 
Large paddocks were overgrown with the per- 
nicious weed, and not only was the pasture land 
destroyed, but, in some cases, the land became 
inaccessible to man or beast, and in autumn the 
seeds mount in the air, looking like snow, and I 
have seen the grass perfectly white with the 
down. The mischief is irreparable, and the 
thistle will never be extirpated in Van Dieman's 
Land, while the curse pronounced upon the land 
for Adam's sake is inflicted." 

Bad habits are the thistles of the heart, and 
each particular indulgence in them is a seed, 
from which will spring a new crop of weeds. A 
few years ago, a little boy told his first falsehood. 
It was a little, solitary thistle seed, and no eye 
but God's saw him, as he planted it in the mellow 
soil of his heart. But it sprang up, — 0 how 
quickly ! — and in a little time another, and 



16 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



another, and yet another seed dropped from it 
into the ground, each in its turn bearing more 
thistles and more seeds. And now his heart is 
all overgrown with this bad habit — he is a con- 
firmed liar, and it would be as difficult for him 
to cease entirely from falsehood, as it would be 
for the gardener to clear his land of the noxious 
thistle, after it has gained a footing in the soil. 

Of all men, the most contemptible and the 
most miserable is the slave of bad habits. He is 
truly a slave, for there is no servitude on earth 
like his. He is, like Mazeppa, lashed to the back 
of a furious horse, and borne away into the wilder- 
ness of sin and woe. His misery is aggravated 
by the consideration that he bound himself, little 
by little, and with silken cords, to his steed, then 
a gentle beast, but now rushing and plunging like 
a mad demon into the vortex of ruin. This furi- 
ous steed is a passion, a lust, or a habit, but it 
was once only a little seed, and might have been 
easily crushed. Who can subdue it now ? Thus 
do the silken cords of sin become at last the 
strong net and the scourge of him who dallies 
with them. And this enables us to understand 
the Scripture declaration, that it is as difficult 
for those to do good " that are accustomed to do 
evil," as for the Ethiopian to change his skin, or 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



17 



the leopard his spots* Jer. 13 : 23. The poet 
Southey describes the struggles of such a man 
with terrible vividness, in the following lines : 

" For from his shoulders grew 
Two snakes of monster size, 
Which ever at his head 
Aimed their rapacious teeth, 
To satiate raving hunger with his brain. 
He, in the eternal conflict, oft would seize 
Their swelling necks, and in his giant grasp 
Bruise them and rend their flesh with bloody nails, 

And howl for agony ; 
Feeling the pangs he gave, for of himself 
Co-sentient and inseparable parts 
The snaky tortures grew.'* 

But even if a man succeeds perfectly in break- 
ing away from the dominion of habit, this cannot 
repair the mischief he has done. There is an old 
maxim, " What is done, cannot be undone," the 
full force of which he must realize. Some one 
has illustrated this truth in the following striking 
though rather fanciful manner : " A crime com- 
mitted enters on a new state of being. Released 
from its secret dungeon, a human heart — freed 
from the fetters of restraining will that bound it 
there, it breaks upon the light and flies, with it, 
through immeasurable space, twelve millions of 
miles each minute. Who shall catch it ? Who 

2* 



18 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



shall recall it ? Who shall shut it up in its prison- 
house again, as the expanded genius, Solomon, 
was reduced into his cauldron ? The atom of 
light, that saw the crime, can never die ; but will 
be a tale-bearer forever. Its wave, ever hurrying, 
will break on shore of distant suns and stars, and 
systems of almost fabulous remoteness. When 
myriads of years shall have waned, it will dash at 
full speed, into some point of space with the 
' Last news from Earth! ' The twentieth part of 
a second, that tells the tale, will bear it, in undi- 
minished flight, ten thousand miles farther on its 
infinite way. Xo remorse, no entreaty, no courier 
of repentance, can change the laws of light. The 
freighted atom, like a true carrier, will be a 
faithful and never-flagging messenger to the end 
of time. The blood-spot and the tear may strug- 
gle and mingle together, but ' What's done can't 
be undone.' " Xo, the evil deed may be repented 
of, and the angel of mercy may blot out the 
record in the great book of judgment, but it can 
never be recalled, or undone. 

And there is another fact to be observed here. 
Should we have strength to break away from the 
power of habit, it will not only be impossible to 
undo our past misdeeds, but we must actually 
bear with us to the grave the scars of the wounds 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



19 



which they have left in our souls. In heaven, 
these willall doubtless be healed ; but they will re- 
main with us on earth, to remind us of our folly, to 
mortify our hearts, and, perhaps, to impair our use- 
fulness. The boy who drove" a nail into the wall 
every time he committed an evil, deed, and drew 
one out when he performed a good act, discovered 
this sad truth. In time, the nails which once 
thickly studded the wall were all drawn out, but 
the black and ugly holes were left, to remind him 
of his evil deeds. Nero could not wipe out the 
infamy which fell upon his name for burning 
Rome, by rebuilding the desolate city. The 
French statesman Mirabeau, who had abandoned 
himself to immoralities in his younger clays, once 
exclaimed, in a tone full of deep affliction and 
repentance, " Alas ! how much the immorality of 
my youth now injures the public interests ! " and 
he declared to an intimate friend that he would 
pass through a furnace seven times heated, to 
purify the name of Mirabeau. But it could not 
be. These errors of his youth were like the 
figures which boys sometimes prick into their 
flesh with Indian ink, and which remain as ineffac- 
able as ever, after every particle of the body has 
been changed again and again. 

I have f $poken of the difficulty of changing our 



20 THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



habits, but I ought also to add, that our early 
habits are much harder to alter than those formed 
in mature life. There is always a strong propen- 
sity to return to them, and many a man, who 
thought he had brought a vicious habit of his 
youth into subjection, has again become a slave to 
it in his old age. Alexander the Great, in early 
life, was rude and coarse in his manners. By the 
skill of his tutor, he was enabled to overcome 
these disagreeable habits ; but towards the close 
of life, they returned again, as strong as ever. A 
similar anecdote is related of Lord Loughborough, 
a Scotch nobleman, who studied under a master 
to eradicate an early defect in his accent ; but in 
his old age, the Scotticisms which he had labored 
so hard and successfully to subdue, returned again 
with all the force of habit. The tastes and habits 
which Benjamin Franklin formed in boyhood, 
returned to him in his old age, and during his 
residence in France, he took great pleasure in a 
little printing office which he had fitted up in his 
lodgings, where he printed " trifles," as he called 
them, for the amusement of his friends. 

We see, from these illustrations, the danger of 
forming evil habits in youth. Even if overcome 
in riper years, the " holes in the wall " will 
remain, to deface what might otherwise be a fair 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



21 



and spotless character; and, besides this, there is 
always danger that the unclean spirit, though 
once cast out, will return again to its old home, 
with seven other spirits worse than itself. 

My young friend, let this truth be fixed deeply 
in your mind : — No gifts, advantages or acquire- 
ments can answer the place of good habits, or 
atone for bad ones. Without virtue and integrity, 
talent will be a curse, and wealth and fortune 
will only sink you into deeper shame. When the 
late President John Quincy Adams was a youth 
of twelve years, and absent with his father in 
Europe, his excellent mother wrote to him : — 
" Great learning and superior abilities, should 
you ever possess them, will be of little value and 
of small estimation, unless virtue, honor, integ- 
rity and truth are cherished by you. Adhere to 
the rules and principles early instilled into your 
mind, and remember that you are responsible to 
your God. Dear as you are to me, I would much 
rather prefer that you would find a grave in the 
ocean which you have crossed, than to see you an 
immoral, graceless child." Young Adams heeded 
the words of his mother, and became one of the 
most useful, eminent and honored men of his 
times. How differently would his name now 
appear, in the page of history, had he been " an 



22 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



immoral, graceless child ! " The celebrated Lord 
Brougham exhibited a deep knowledge of the 
springs of human action, when he declared in one 
of his speeches, " I trust every thing, under God, 
to habit, upon which, in all ages, the lawgiver as 
well as the schoolmaster, has mainly placed his 
reliance; habit, which makes every thing easy, 
and casts all difficulties upon the deviation from 
a wonted course." 

The following pages will be addressed espe- 
cially to lads of twelve or fourteen years and 
upwards ; and I now allude to this, for the pur- 
pose of saying, that this is a very important 
period in the life of every person. " The period 
which elapses from fourteen to eighteen years of 
age," says the Rev. J. A. James, " is indeed the 
crisis of your history and character. It is incon- 
ceivably the most eventful and influential term of 
your whole existence. # * # ^ This, this 
is the very time when the ever variable emotions, 
passions and pursuits of boyhood begin to exhibit 
something like the durable and settled forms of 
manhood." The same excellent writer adds : 
" Then the passions acquire new vigor, and exert 
a mighty influence ; then the understanding 
begins to assert its independence, and to think for 
itself ; then there is a declaration of its liberty 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



23 



on the part of the mind, and a casting away of the 
trammels of education ; then there is a self-confi- 
dence, and a self-reliance, which have received as 
yet few checks from experience ; then the social 
impulse is felt, and the youth looks around for 
companions and friends ; then the eye of parental 
vigilance, and the voice of parental caution, are 
generally at a distance. Then, in fact, the future 
character is formed. At this time, generally 
speaking, religion is chosen or abandoned ; and 
the heart is given to God or the world. Can any 
thing be more awfully important than these 
reflections to those who are yet about this age ? " 

Such, youthful reader, is the interesting and 
critical period upon which you are now entering. 
Your habits are about to assume a permanent 
form. You are acquiring a fixed character. You 
have reached the last period of childhood, and 
will soon pass through the various physical and 
mental changes which announce the approach of 
manhood. And this is Ijie golden opportunity, 
which I shall attempt to induce you to improve. 
Once lost, it will never return, and no future time 
will ever be so favorable for accomplishing the 
work to be done. After four or five years, you 
will find that your habits are becoming more 
fixed and immovable, and there will be less incli- 



21 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



nation to change them, as well as less power to 
do so. Now, the current may be easily turned. 
Then, it will be a broad stream, and it will con- 
stantly wear itself wider and deeper, till it 
becomes almost impossible to change its course. 
The skillful gardener can train a tree into many 
curious shapes, if he begins while it is young ; 
but when it is old and strong, it resists all his 
attempts to change its form. I wish to persuade 
every boy who reads this book, to establish good 
principles as the foundation of his character ; and 
I wish not only to persuade him, but to help him 
to do this. " Even a child," says the Bible, " is 
known by his doings, whether his work be pure, 
and whether it be right," Prov. 20: 11. To 
enter upon life without right principles and habits, 
is like drifting to sea without rudder or compass ; 
you cannot tell whither you are going. 

Three boys, the oldest of whom was but fifteen, 
were once amusing themselves with an excursion 
on the water, when they were suddenly carried 
out of sight of land. Having only a sail and an 
oar, and not knowing how to retrace their course, 
they were drifted about at sea four days and 
nights, without food or drink, or discovering a 
sail. To add to their terrible situation, the 
oldest of the boys took sick the first day out, and 



PRINCIPLES AND HABITS. 



25 



died on the following day. In the afternoon of 
the fourth day they descried a sail in the dis- 
tance, and with eyes filled with tears they beheld 
a ship bearing towards them. At length the 
welcome messenger of hope reached their side, 
and the kind captain took them on board his 
vessel, relieved their intense sufferings, and car- 
ried them into the port to which the vessel was 
bound. But the body of their poor comrade was 
committed to the deep, amid their tears and sobs. 

How often have I seen youth entering upon the 
voyage of life, with as little thought or prepara- 
tion as these lads evinced, when they floated gaily 
off upon the dancing waves ! Carelessly, and 
almost unconsciously, they drifted away upon the 
great ocean of existence, with no settled princi- 
ples, no good habits, no noble aims, no hopes, even, 
beyond their present happiness. "What could be 
the result of such folly, but shame, sorrow, and 
despair ? 0, might I save but one youth from 
such a fatal course, how great would be my joy ! 

I have said, that probably the habits of most of 
my young readers have not taken a permanent 
form. This may not be true of all, and, indeed, 
I suppose that nearly every lad whom I address 
will be able already to detect in his character 
some poisonous weeds which ought to be plucked 



26 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



up, though, they may not yet have taken deep 
root. The Bible says, " The imagination of man's 
heart is evil from youth ;" Gen. 8:21; and we 
must therefore watch and fight against this ten- 
dency to evil. The best way to secure ourselves 
against bad habits, is to form good ones. The 
heart, like rich soil, will not remain idle and 
unfruitful. If good seed is not planted, tares and 
brambles will spring up; and if these things 
once obtain a hold in the soil, it will be very 
difficult to eradicate them. It has been estimated 
that a single plant of the weed called " sow 
thistle," will produce over eleven thousand seeds. 
I will not venture to calculate how many mis- 
chievous seeds may spring from a single weed in 
the heart, but we know that such things are very 
prolific of evil. Let us, then, be thorough, honest 
and earnest in dealing with ourselves, and stand 
ready at all times either to drop a good seed into 
our hearts, or to cut up any poisonous weed that 
we may discover springing forth from their depths. 



OBEDIENCE. 



27 



CHAPTER III. 

OBEDIENCE. 

The first lesson to be learned — The duty runs through life — 
To whom obedience is due — To parents— Scriptural pre- 
cepts — Mothers to be obeyed — Two examples in contrast 
— How long obedience should be rendered to parents — 
Obedience due to teachers — To employers — To the laws 
of the land — Obedience must be prompt and cheerful — 
An illustration— Demanding reasons for a command — 
The boy who was wiser than his father— Disobedience in 
little things — Commands to do wrong not to be obeyed 

- — The penalty of disobedience — Stubborn boys — The 
"school calamity" in New York the result of disobedi- 
ence — Disobedient boys make disobedient men — Those 
who will not obey men, seldom obey God — The miserable 
end of disobedience. 

The liabit of obedience, or submission to rightful 
authority, is the foundation stone of the character 
of the good boy. To obey is the first lesson to 
be impressed upon the child, and long before he 
reaches his tenth year, the habit of obedience 
should be a part of his very nature. Nearly all 
the other virtues and graces of character depend 
upon the existence of this habit; and if it is 
wanting, the heart is thrown open to a rude train 



28 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



of vices, which seldom fail to take possession of 
the citadel. Obedience is a wall around the 
heart. So long as it stands, all is safe ; but let 
even a small breach be made, and the enemy 
will begin to pour in. 

The duty of which I now speak is not confined 
to children. ISo matter how old we become, or 
how lofty may be our station, we shall always find 
a power above us, demanding our obedience. The 
common soldiers in the army are subject to the 
officers of their company ; they, in their turn, are 
responsible to the officers of regiments, brigades 
and divisions ; these last must obey their gener- 
als ; the generals move in obedience to the orders 
of the President, who is commander-in-chief ; 
and the President, when he enters upon his office, 
takes a solemn oath to obey the constitution of 
the nation. Thus obedience is required of every 
individual in the army, from the lowest to the 
highest. It is so with every citizen of the land. 
The laws of the town, the state, and the nation, 
demand obedience of every inhabitant. And 
could we escape to some uninhabited region, over 
which no human law extends its sceptre, the great 
law of God would be there before us, demanding 
our obedience, and visiting our transgressions 
with judgment. 



OBEDIENCE. 



29 



But you are not to obey every body, however 
young you may be. As a general rule, obedience 
can be demanded of you only by those who can 
show a claim to this right. And first among 
these, are your parents. Nothing can be plainer 
than their right to your obedience, and you should 
promptly attend, not merely to their express 
commands, but even to their wishes. They are 
appointed by God to train you for future useful- 
ness, and how can they do it, if you will not obey 
them ? " Honor thy father and thy mother," was 
inscribed on the table of the law ; Ex. 20 : 12 ; 
and an apostle, in urging it upon the Ephesians, 
reminds them that it " is the first commandment 
with promise." Eph. 6 : 2. Again it is written, 
' ' Ye shall fear every man his mother and his 
father." Lev. 19 : 3. And Solomon frequently 
urged this duty, saying, " My son, keep thy 
father's commandment, and forsake not the law 
of thy mother." Prov. 6 : 20. This duty is urged 
in many other passages of Scripture, which it is 
not necessary to repeat. It is, moreover, taught 
by many beautiful examples recorded in the 
sacred book, one of which is that of our Saviour 
himself, who, it is written, (Luke 2 : 51,) was 
subject unto his parents in Nazareth. 

It is worthy of notice, that in the numerous 
3* 



30 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



passages in the Bible referring to this duty, the 
child is not directed to obey merely his father, 
but his parents, his father and mother. I have 
seen some lads who did not appear to have noticed 
this fact. They obeyed their fathers, but seemed 
to think the wishes and commands of their moth- 
ers of very little consequence. I knew a boy of 
some dozen years, who, when his father was 
laid upon a sick-bed, forsook his school, refused 
all obedience to his mother, and became a little 
rebel in the family. For months his father 
languished, and at last he died ; and during all 
this period the boy remained stubborn and will- 
ful, absenting himself constantly from school, 
and refusing to obey any of the family. What 
could be meaner or baser than the spirit mani- 
fested by this lad ? No generous or noble- 
hearted boy could stoop to such a course. And 
we shall always find it to be true of those who 
disobey their mothers, that they are controlled 
solely by low and selfish motives. They obey 
their fathers only because they fear them ; and 
such obedience is but one degree better than dis- 
obedience, in which it is sure to end, sooner or 
later. How beautiful, in contrast with the exam- 
ple of the lad above referred to, was the conduct 
of a late President of the United States. 



OBEDIENCE. 



31 



" Mother," lie said on his death-bed, as the 
venerable woman bent over his dying body, 
"mother, I have never in my life disobeyed 
you I" What a noble testimony to bear upon a 
death-bed ! What a consolation to the son, as 
well as to the mother, in the sad hour of parting ! 

Does any one ask, " at what age does the duty 
to obey our parents cease ?" Not when you get 
to be twelve or fourteen years old. In this coun- 
try, a son is not legally released from his obli- 
gations to serve and obey his father till he is 
twenty-one years of age. As a general rule, the 
child should continue to obey his parents as long 
as he remains under their care. When he is old 
enough to go forth into the world, and depend 
upon himself for support, he is released from the 
obligation to obey his parents, though he ought 
still to pay the utmost respect to their wishes 
and advice. We sometimes see young lads grow- 
ing restive under the authority of their parents, 
as soon as they enter their " teens," and acting 
as though the duty of obedience no longer rested 
upon them. This is a bad sign, and I would 
earnestly caution the young reader against falling 
into such an error. 

As long as you remain at school, obedience is 
also due to your teachers. Your instructor stands 



32 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



in the place of a parent, while you are within 
the school-room, and the same obedience should 
be rendered to him as to your father or mother. 
The laws of the school are made for the general 
good, and should be promptly obeyed. You 
have an equal interest in them with the other 
scholars, and should not only respect them your- 
self, but do what you can to aid the teacher in 
upholding them. The larger boys of a school, 
instead of feeling that they are above the laws 
and discipline of the teacher, should endeavor to 
become models and examples of obedience for 
the younger pupils to imitate. 

If any of you are engaged at work, away from 
home, you owe obedience to your masters, or those 
in whose charge you are placed. Whether an 
errand-boy, an apprentice, or a laborer on the 
farm, you will find the habit of obedience is 
essential. The rules of the establishment must 
be respected, and the instructions of your supe- 
riors obeyed, if you would make progress in 
your business, or give satisfaction to your em- 
ployers. 

Obedience should also be rendered by the 
young to the laws of the land, and to those who 
are charged with their execution. There are 
some laws, both legislative and municipal, which 



OBEDIENCE. 



33 



are particularly intended for lads, and these 
should be carefully obeyed. In some of our 
northern cities, it is contrary to law to " coast " 
upon a sled in the public streets, in winter. The 
act forbidden is dangerous, in the crowded streets 
of a city, and every well-disposed boy, when he 
is informed of the law, will obey it. The setting 
off of fire-crackers, firing of guns and cannons, 
throwing stones, or snow-balls, &c, in the streets 
of a city, are usually forbidden by law, and when 
such is the case, no thoughtful and obedient boy 
will indulge in these dangerous amusements. 
There are many other laws, wisely designed to 
restrain boys from mischief and danger, which 
are often disregarded by those who would not 
treat them in this manner, were they to give the 
subject a little reflection. We ought to be care- 
ful how we trample upon any law. We enjoy a 
degree of liberty which is allowed to no other 
people on earth, and it ought to be the ambition 
of every American citizen, and even of every 
American child, to refute the old notion that lib- 
erty and law cannot long exist together. Come, 
boys, let us show the kings and popes and despots 
of the old world, that we love and respect our 
laws, though they are made by ourselves, and 



34 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



that we can be loyal citizens, although there is 
no army to keep us in subjection. 

But it should always be remembered that 
obedience, to be of any value, must be prompt, 
cheerful, and from the heart, and not from fear, 
or from selfish motives. " Forced obedience is 
rebellion." The obedience which I am urging 
upon you, is not that of the slave ; it is rather 
that happy and blessed impulse which moves the 
hosts of heaven to fly at the command of their 
Lord, and do his will. A boy was once tempted, 
by some of his companions, to pluck ripe cherries 
from a tree which his father had forbidden him 
to touch. " You n6ed not be afraid," said one 
of them, " for if your father should find out that 
you had them, he is so kind that he would not 
hurt you." " That is the very reason" replied 
the boy, " why I would not touch them. It is 
true my father would not hurt me ; yet my diso- 
bedience, I know, would hurt my father, and that 
would be worse to me than any thing else." This 
is the obedience which we want ; and the boy 
who grows up with such principles as this, will 
make a good man. 

There are some boys who want a reason for 
every command, but this is improper. It is 
enough if the command comes from a wise and 



OBEDIENCE. 



35 



good parent ; he may have a good reason for not 
attempting to explain its object to you. When 
God told Abraham to offer up his son Isaac, no 
reason was given for this astonishing command, 
nor did Abraham reply, " Give me a reason, and 
I will obey." The young cannot always under- 
stand the object of a command or prohibition, 
but they should be none the less ready to obey, 
on this account, nor should they assume the right 
to judge of the force of a reason which is given 
for a command. A boy was once forbidden to 
go upon the ice, and he asked, " Why cannot I 
go, father ? — the other boys are all going." " Be- 
cause it is not frozen hard enough, my son," was 
the reply ; " it is unsafe now — wait a day or two 
and you may go." The lad went down to the 
pond, not intending to disobey his father, but 
merely to look on, and see the sport of his more 
venturesome comrades. But soon he began to 
reason in his mind. " My father," he said to 
himself, " has no objection to my skating or 
sliding on the pond, if the ice is strong enough. 
He thought it was not frozen hard, but he was 
mistaken, and so it would not be disobeying the 
spirit of his command, if I should venture to join 
the other boys in their sports." It was an easy 
step, from the indulgence of this thought to the 



36 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



commission of the forbidden act; but when, a 
short time after, he and several of his compan- 
ions were plunged into the water by the cracking 
ice, and narrowly escaped death, he learned a 
lesson on obedience which he never afterwards 
forgot. 

You should also guard yourself against disobe- 
dience in little things. Sometimes a great deal 
may depend upon a command which you consider 
of trifling importance ; and were this never the 
case, as a matter of principle you should obey in 
small as well as large matters. If you adopt any 
other rule, you will find it very hard to tell 
where to stop in your disobedience. It is these 
" little things" that do the most mischief in the 
world. They beguile us into one bad habit after 
another, and before we are aware, the foundations 
of our virtue sink from under us, and we are at the 
mercy of every wind and wave. 

In what has been said, I have taken it for 
granted that the commands spoken of are right 
and lawful. It is not your duty to obey even 
your parents, when they order you to do an act 
plainly contrary to the law of God. There are 
parents who have sunk themselves so low in sin 
as to order their children to lie, steal, and do 
many wrong things ; but it is none the less a sin 



OBEDIENCE. 



37 



to do these things, because directed to do them 
by a parent. Your obedience is due first to your 
Maker, and no other being can release you from 
the obligation you are under to honor His com- 
mands. 

There is a 'penalty to every law, and I must not 
close these remarks on obedience, without re- 
minding you of the evil effects which will follow 
every neglect of this duty. By the direction of 
the Almighty, the ancient J ews were accustomed 
to stone to death a stubborn and rebellious son ; 
and in the Bible you will find several curses pro- 
nounced against those who disobey their parents. 
The laws of our own State recognize stubbornness 
in youth as a crime, and many of the boys in our 
Reform School and Houses of Reformation were 
sent thither for this offence. A single act of dis- 
obedience is often followed by immediate and 
providential punishment, and many a boy has lost 
his life in consequence of disregarding only one 
command. In 1851, a teacher in New York city 
was suddenly attacked with sickness, which so 
alarmed her class that they ran screaming from 
the room. There were nearly two thousand 
children in various parts of the building, who 
thought the house was on fire, and hundreds of 

them rushed for the stairs. The passages soon 
4 



38 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



became blocked up, the banisters gave way, and 
in a few minutes forty-two of those children were 
dead, and fifty severely injured. Many of these 
poor little sufferers rushed from their school- 
rooms, contrary to the commands and entreaties 
of their teachers ; and had they obeyed, this 
dreadful accident would never have happened, for 
every pupil who remained quiet, at the command 
of the teachers, escaped uninjured. Thus a child 
who is in the habit of obeying may be saved by 
a word from a judicious parent or teacher, while 
another would be lost through inattention or will- 
fulness. 

It has always been observed, that those who 
do not learn to obey in youth, seldom do in man- 
hood, and hence my young readers will see the 
importance of acquiring this habit now. The boy 
who does not obey his parents and teachers, will 
not be likely to obey any one else, and as he 
grows up he becomes a pest in the community. Our 
prisons are filled with those who began their 
career of crime by youthful stubbornness and 
disobedience. 

Another solemn fact is, that those who do not 
obey man, will not obey God ; and this furnishes 
another powerful reason for obedience. Every 
act of disobedience, besides being a sin in itself, 



OBEDIENCE. 



39 



places an additional obstruction in the way of 
your conversion to God, and makes it more diffi- 
cult for you to obey him. The stubborn and 
willful child is far more likely to grow up into a 
rebellious sinner, than to become an humble and 
obedient Christian. 

After all that can be said, there are some (not, 
I hope, among my readers) to whom the ways of 
disobedience will' seem more attractive than those 
of obedience. Well, I can only say that time 
will reveal to them their mistake. The vessel 
which is to convey a company of convicts to a 
penal colony, may ride as gallantly as the ship 
freighted with wealth from the Indies ; but she 
is still a prison-ship. This is not all a figure ; let 
me tell you, Satan also has his colony, where 
the outcasts and the vile are congregated; and 
the ship Disobedience is the vessel which conveys 
his prisoners to that land of wretchedness and 
sin. Alas, how few who take passage in this 
ship, ever return again ! 



40 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER IV. 

AFFECTION. 

A boy's remembrance of his deceased mother — Duty of 
filial love — The three offerings — Outgrowing love — Anec- 
dote of Washington — Unkindness to parents by grown-up 
children — Examples — Affection for brothers and sisters — 
The reformed spendthrift, and his noble brother — Frank- 
lin and his brother — Duties to sisters — Love for neighbors 
and strangers— Affection not an unmanly emotion — John 
Quincy Adams and his mother — An emblem of a heart 
from which love is banished. 

A manly and noble-hearted boy of fifteen was not 
long since cut down by death, in the midst of his 
promise and strength. On examining his pocket- 
book after his death, his father found in it a copy 
of a beautiful poem, written by an American poet 
at the grave of his mother, commencing — 

" The trembling dew-drops fall 
Upon the shutting flowers like souls at rest; 
The stars shine gloriously — and all, 
Save me, is blest ! 

11 Mother — I love thy grave ; — 
The violet, with its blossoms blue and mild, 
Waves o'er thy head — when shall it wave 
Above thy child ?" 



AFFECTION. 



41 



The lad referred to had lost his own mother 
but a short time previous to his death, and these 
carefully preserved lines bore touching testimony 
to a lovely trait in his character — an affectionate 
disposition. How beautiful the sight which the 
watchful angels saw, as this youth read and re- 
read these cherished words of filial love, in his 
hours of retirement, and wept over the memory 
of his departed mother, and perhaps longed to 
join her company in the spirit world ! Affec- 
tion is truly a noble trait in a boy, whether cher- 
ished for the dead, or bestowed upon the living. 
It gives a charm to the character which nothing 
else can impart ; and, indeed, without it, even 
a virtuous character would be as cold and forbid- 
ding as an iceberg. 

The Bible repeatedly enjoins upon us the duty 
of loving one another ; and so familiar are these 
passages to every reader, that I need not repeat 
them. The first affection which we are taught to 
cherish, is usually filial lave, and I desire to urge 
this beautiful trait upon my young readers. 
Nothing can be more gratifying to a parent, than 
the exhibition of a filial spirit on the part of his 
children. Do you remember the story of the 
three sons of an eastern lady who were invited to 
furnish her with an expression of their love, be- 

4* 



42 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



fore she went a long journey ? One brought a 
marble tablet with the inscription of her name ; 
another presented her with a rich garland of 
flowers ; the third entered her presence, and thus 
accosted her : " Mother, I have neither marble 
tablet nor fragrant nosegay, but I have a heart ; 
here your name is engraved, here your memory 
is precious, and this heart, full of affection, will 
follow you wherever you travel, and remain with 
you wherever } 7 ou repose." What mother could 
desire a more precious gift than this last ? 

Young reader, if you are blessed with a father 
or a mother, cherish towards them a sentiment of 
affection. Do not think that you can outgrow 
this duty. I have known boys who thought it 
was well enough for girls and little children to 
manifest affection for their parents, but they were 
too old to make such an exhibition. This is the 
mark of any thing but wisdom, and we may well 
tremble for the youth who thus casts off the beau- 
tiful duty of filial love, at this important transition 
period of his life. It was not so with George 
Wa shin st on. when a lad, Having obtained a chance 
to go to sea, a purpose on which his heart was 
strongly set, the grief of his mother at parting 
induced him to abandon the voyage. Turning to 
a servant, he said, " Go and tell them to fetch 



AFFECTION. 



43 



my trunk back. I will not go away, to break 
my mother's heart." " George," replied the 
good woman, " God has promised to bless the 
children that honor their parents, and I believe 
he will bless you." It was a noble act, and is 
worthy to be recorded by the side of the bright- 
est deeds which distinguished him in after life as 
the greatest and best of men. 

If any lad who reads these pages is the eldest 
of a family of children, he should be especially 
careful to set a good example in this respect. 
No sight is more unpleasant than a son who 
treats his parents with unkindness or indifference, 
because he has reached an age when he dares to 
do so. Such a child is like the viper, which 
stings the heart which has nursed it into life. A 
man after this sort, in a neighboring State, re- 
cently drove his aged and helpless parents from 
the house, sending his father, .whose head was 
whitened with the snows of ninety-one winters, to 
the alms-house, to be supported at the public 
charge, while the unnatural son was surrounded 
with the comforts of wealth. It must have been 
a man similar in character to this wretch, of 
whom a young Irish girl recently testified in a 
New Orleans court. " Arrah, sir," said she, " I'm 
sure he never made his mother smile !" What a 



44 THE boy's own guide. 



biography of unkindness there is in that simple 
sentence ! Such hideous examples of ingratitude 
are not common, but the young too often exhibit 
the same wicked trait, on a smaller scale ; and 
they often bitterly repent their thoughtlessness, 
too, when repentance can no longer repair the 
injury they have inflicted. " What would I 
give," said Charles Lamb, " to call my mother 
back to earth one day, to ask her pardon, upon 
my knees, for all those acts by which I gave her 
gentle spirit pain." How many can join with 
him, in this wish ! Noble and beautiful indeed 
is the example of that youth who truly loves his 
parents, and who manifests that love by obeying 
their commands, submitting to their wishes, pro- 
moting their enjoyments, lightening their cares 
and burdens, and overlooking their imperfections. 

11 Be kind to thy father — for when thou wert young, 
Who loved thee more fondly than he ? 
He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue, 
And joined in thine innocent glee. 

11 Be kind to thy mother — for lo ! on her brow 
May traces of sorrow be seen ; 
0 well may'st thou comfort and cherish her now, 
For loving and kind has she been." 

Affection is also due to your brothers and sis- 
ters. They are bound to you by one of the near* 



AFFECTION. 



45 



est of earthly ties. Their home is your home, 
their lot your lot. The same mother has guarded 
their helpless infancy, and wept over their sick 
couch, and rejoiced in the progress they have 
made in knowledge and virtue. The same father 
has toiled for their support, and extended to 
them the same counsels and protection which you 
have enjoyed. How can you be indifferent to 
their happiness ? How can you treat them with 
neglect or unkindness ? 

If your brothers and sisters are younger than 
yourself, you should not neglect them in your 
sports, and leave them to seek other companions, 
nor should you domineer over them, disregarding 
their wishes and feelings. You should remember 
that your example has almost as much power over 
them as the precepts of your parents, and it will 
be a sorry reflection for you in after life, if you 
lead them astray. On the other hand, if they are 
older than you, it should be your aim to retain 
their affection by treating them with courtesy, 
cheerfully assisting them in their duties, when 
desired, and paying proper respect to their supe- 
rior age and experience. That is truly a happy 
family, where love reigns in each heart, and every 
member is guided by the principles here recom- 
mended. 



46 the boy's own guide. 



What I have just written, has called to my 
mind a beautiful illustration of brotherly love 
which occurred in England in the days of Charles 
II. In that country, a man's property is not di- 
vided among his children, when he dies without 
making a will, as among us, but the great bulk of 
it goes to the eldest son. A wealthy gentleman 
named Grlanville, who died in the reign above 
mentioned, had two sons, the eldest of whom was 
very vicious. Finding all efforts to reform him 
fruitless, the father gave all his property to his 
second son. After the death of Mr. Gianville, 
when the eldest son learned what had been done, 
he became very sorrowful, and in a short time his 
character underwent a great change. His brother, 
the heir, perceiving this, invited him and a party 
of his friends to a feast. After several dishes 
had been served, he ordered a covered one to be 
set before his brother, which, on opening it, was 
found to contain the writings that conveyed to 
him the estate. This, the generous brother re- 
marked, was what he was sure his father would 
have done, had he lived to see the happy change 
which they witnessed. Here was love, both fra- 
ternal and filial ; and how strongly does it con- 
trast with the heartless selfishness sometimes 



AFFECTION. 



47 



manifested among the brothers and sisters of the 
same household ! 

Benjamin Franklin, when a boy of twelve, was 
apprenticed to a brother who was a printer. His 
brother was perhaps not a very pleasant man to 
get along with, and Benjamin made the matter 
worse by treating him disrespectfully. The re- 
sult was, disputes often arose between them, in 
some of which Benjamin got rather roughly 
handled. After serving as apprentice for several 
years, his situation became so unpleasant that he 
ran away to Philadelphia — a step which he ac- 
knowledged to have been very censurable, in 
writing the history of his life. When he became 
a man, he made all the amends in his power for 
the injury he had done his brother, and the dif- 
ferences between them were forgotten ; but he no 
doubt regretted to the clay of his death the saucy 
and provoking conduct by which he irritated his 
brother when a lad. 

Have you a sister ? She, too, has a claim, to 
your affection. Do not treat her with rudeness, 
but be always ready to render her a kindness. 
The love of a good sister is an invaluable blessing 
to a young man, and her endearing smile should 
ever be prized as a gift from heaven. A sister's 
influence has saved many a youth from ruin. If 



48 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



you are blessed with such a friend, treat her ten- 
derly and affectionately, and be to her all that a 
brother should be. Is there not some reader, 
whose eye is now glancing down this page, who 
has sometimes forgotten the duty I am endeavor- 
ing to recommend ? If there be such an one, let 
me again urge him to cherish a gentle and kindly 
affection for his "kinsmen according to the flesh." 

" Be kind to thy brother, wherever you are ; 

The love of a brother shall be 
An ornament, purer and richer by far 

Than pearls from the depth of the sea. 

" Be kind to thy sister — not many may know 

The depths of true sisterly love ; 
The wealth of the ocean lies fathoms below 

The surface that sparkles above." 

What has been said under this head would not 
be complete, did I not add, that our love must 
not be confined to our own families. We are 
commanded in the Bible to love all men, even 
our enemies; for all are brethren, having one 
Father in heaven. "If ye fulfill the royal law 
according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself, ye do well." James 2 : 8. 
The Christians of the early ages were more care- 
ful to obey this " royal law," than I fear we are. 



AFFECTION. 



49 



The scoffer Lucian said, " Your lawgiver has per- 
suaded you that ye are all brethren;" and he goes 
on to describe the generous provisions which the 
Christians of those days made for their poor and 
persecuted brethren. Even the heathen shared 
their bounty. Says a writer in the " Christian 
Beview :" 

" Shortly after a violent persecution of the 
heathen against the Christians, a plague broke 
out at Carthage, by which many were carried off. 
Among the heathen, governed by mere selfish- 
ness, every one thought only of his own preserva- 
tion, and anxiously sought to avoid the infection. 
The dying were thrown by their relations into the 
highways ; and no one ventured to perform the 
last rites for the dead. The streets were filled 
with dead bodies, so that the air became polluted. 
But Cyprian called together his church, and said 
to them : 4 It is nothing great, if we show only 
to our brethren the love which we owe them. He 
only can reach perfection, who does something 
more than the publican or the heathen; who, 
overcoming evil with good, and following the ex- 
ample of the divine mercy, loves even his ene- 
mies ; who, according to the exhortation of our 
Lord, prays for the salvation of his persecutors.' 
Stimulated by these words of their reverend bish- 



50 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



op, the Christians, rich and poor, furnished money 
and help, to bury the bodies of their persecutors, 
and to rescue the city from the danger of a more 
terrible devastation." 

The application of this " royal law " to the 
class of readers I am addressing, is too plain to 
need illustration. Your neighbors are your young 
comrades and acquaintances, and it is your duty 
to treat them with affection and kindness, though 
they may render you only evil for good. 

Some youth will perhaps need a word of cau- 
tion here. It is this — never be afraid or ashamed 
to manifest your affection, on suitable occasions. 
Boys sometimes entertain the very foolish notion 
that it is unmanly to exhibit an emotion of this 
kind ; and if they intended to train themselves 
for the business of pirates or outlaws, perhaps 
there would be some excuse for such an opinion. 
Young George Washington was not ashamed to 
manifest his love for his mother, as we have just 
seen. Nor was ex-President John Quincy Adams 
ashamed to exhibit emotion at the mention of his 
mother's name, even when he had reached his 
three-score years and ten. Gov. Briggs one day 
remarked to the " old man eloquent," " I have 
been reading the letters of your mother." " If," 
says Gov. Briggs, " I had spoken that dear name 



AFFECTION. 



51 



to some little boy who had been for weeks away 
from his dear mother, his eye could not have 
flashed more brightly, or his face glowed more 
quickly, than did the eye and face of that vener- 
able old man, when I pronounced the name of his 
mother. He started up in his peculiar manner, 
and emphatically said, i Yes ! Mr. Briggs, all 
that is good in me I owe to my mother.' Oh, 
what a testimony was that from this venerable 
man to his mother, who had in his remembrance 
all the scenes of his manhood !" 

Young readers, let me urge you not to forget 
the advice of the good old apostle John, who has 
so often entreated us to love one another. "With- 
out love the world will be to us a wide waste, and 
we shall be to the world as the solitary heath in 
the desert, which knoweth not when good cometh. 
On one of the mountains in western Massachu- 
setts, there is a rocky cavern called the " Snow 
Hole," where it is said the drifted snow lies from 
year to year, without melting. No warm sun 
ever pierces the gloom of that dark hole, but all 
is dreary and wintry, while the surrounding 
country is teeming with life and beauty. If you 
would have your heart become a cold and dreary 
" snow hole," you have only to shut out from it 
the genial influences of affection ; to adopt the 



52 the boy's own guide. 



sentiment that it is weak and childish to love 
your friends, or to manifest any regard for them. 
Choose this course, and if your heart does not 
become a dismal cavern, in which only the weeds 
of suspicion, jealousy and hatred can grow, your 
nature must be very different from that of others. 



GENEROSITY. 



53 



CHAPTEE V. 

GENEROSITY— SELFISHNESS. 

A contrast— Selfishness and Generosity early developed— 
The drowning boy and his two comrades— Bible illustra- 
tions — A portraiture of the generous boy — The two school 
rivals — Anecdote of Lord Byron — Generosity to strangers 
—The shower of marbles — Kindness to the unhappy — ■ 
Rev. John Newton's illustration — Selfishness a fiendish 
attribute— The wreck plunderers — An admonition. 

The contrast between light and darkness is 
scarcely more positive than that which exists be- 
tween the ideas symbolized by the two words at 
the head of this chapter. The one is lovely and 
noble, the other is hateful and mean. The one 
is a trait essential to every youth who would lay 
the foundations of a good character ; the other is 
to be shunned, as a habit so evil that even many 
virtues cannot redeem it. The generous boy 
may have faults, but he will be loved. The sel- 
fish one may have virtues, but he will be despised. 
Both these traits of character are common, and 
they are often very decidedly developed in the 

5# 



54 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



young. In fact, every person is either selfish or 
generous, though all do not carry the trait to the 
same length. The habit of generosity or selfish- 
ness, like all our other habits, in time seems to 
grow into our very natures, so that it becomes as 
natural for us to do a selfish or a generous act, as 
it is to speak or to breathe. 

Several boys in New J ersey were once playing 
on the ice, when one of their number broke 
through. In a moment, a noble little fellow, not 
ten years old, determined to go to his help. See- 
ing the ice was too thin to bear him, he tried to 
borrow a sled of a boy near by, who refused it ; 
but pushing the selfish lad aside, he seized the 
sled, and shoved it to their sinking companion, 
who caught hold of it, and thus he pulled him to 
the shore. Here were generosity and selfishness, 
side by side. They were both called into exer- 
cise suddenly — there was no time for reflection 
or argument — but in that single moment the two 
boys manifested their widely different dispositions 
too plainly to be mistaken. While we admire 
the generous impulses and the brave conduct of 
the one, we cannot help despising the base sel- 
fishness of the other, who would not so much 
as lend his sled to rescue a playmate from 
drowning. 



GENEROSITY. 



55 



Generosity is nothing more or less than acting 
out the golden rule, " All things whatsoever ye 
would that men should do to you, do ye even so 
to them." Matt. 7 : 12. The duty is often in- 
culcated in the Bible, and is exemplified in the 
characters of many of the saints whose histories 
it records. Selfishness is the natural child of 
sin. Adam's first sin was an act of direct trans- 
gression — his second was an ungenerous, selfish 
and base attempt to throw the blame upon Eve. 
Just in proportion that true piety takes up its 
abode in the heart, selfishness is driven out. In 
the parable of the good Samaritan, we have a 
striking exemplification of selfishness and gener- 
osity. "Let every one of us," says Paul, "please 
his neighbor, for his good to edification." 

The generous boy shares his pleasures with his 
comrades, instead of stealing away by himself to 
indulge in secret and selfish gratification. He 
has no wish to keep his things " all to himself," 
nor does he indulge in the desire of the young 
Indian, who said, " I wish there was nobody in 
the world but father and I, for we would then 
have all the hunting to ourselves." On the con- 
trary, he has discovered that it increases a pleas- 
ure, to share it with another. If he makes greater 
progress in his studies than his fellows, he does 



£6 



THE BOY'S OWN GUID1T,. 



not try to throw obstacles in their way, lest they 
should get up with him, nor does he refuse to 
help them out of a difficulty when he can do so. 
He does not boast that his own property 
and his own attainments are better than those of 
anybody else ; but if this is really the case, he is 
willing to communicate of his abundance to those 
who are less fortunate. He can see good quali- 
ties in others, and praise them too. He does not 
insist on having the best and largest portion of 
every thing, nor does it excite his envy to see 
others enjoying pleasures which he cannot share. 
When work is to be done, he does not think of 
shirking his part upon others. Should he com- 
mit an error, he does not try to throw the blame 
upon somebody else. In a word, whether at 
school, at work, or at play, he remembers that 
the world was not made for him alone, but that 
there are others whose happiness is as important 
as his own. 

In the city of Florence there were once two 
boys at school who were devotedly attached to 
each other. One of them, named Verin, was a 
superior scholar, and his compositions always ob- 
tained the first prize ; but the other, named Bel- 
vicino, although he studied hard night and day, 
was less successful. These repeated failures of 



GEXEROSITY. 



57 



Belvicino to obtain a prize grieved him so much 
that he at length became sick ; but Verin, discov- 
ering the source of his friend's trouble, determined 
to remove it. The next composition day, Belvi- 
cino's Greek version took the prize, which so de- 
lighted him that he quickly regained his health 
and spirits. He would never have known to 
whom he was indebted for his triumph, had not 
the preceptor pressed Verin to confess that he 
had purposely made several faults in his compo- 
sition, that his schoolmate might receive the 
prize. 

A very pleasant anecdote is related of Lord 
Byron, which shows that, however selfish and 
misanthropic he became in after life, he possessed 
a generous disposition in boyhood. It was the 
custom in his day for the older scholars in the 
English schools to tyrannize over the younger 
pupils, who were called fags, and were obliged to 
obey the orders, and submit to the kicks and 
blows, of their elders. Byron one day saw a 
great boy-tyrant cruelly beating a little lad 
named Robert Peel,^ whom the other claimed as 
his fag. After witnessing for a moment the 



* Afterward known to the world as Sir Eobert Peel, the 
great English statesman. 



58 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



writhings of Peel, Byron advanced towards his 
torturer, and with tears in his eyes, and a voice 
trembling with indignation, asked how many 
strij e? he intended to inflict. "Why, you little 
rascal," replied the executioner, " what is that to 
you ?" " Because, if you please," said Byron, 
" I would take half" 

A generous heart will not confine its favors to 
its own friends, but will manifest kindness and 
good-will to all around. Not far from a certain 
public school which was attended by poor chil- 
dren, there was a toy-shop, where a well-dressed 
boy frequently bought his pockets full of marbles, 
which, when the school was dismissed, he would 
fling into the street, and run. He used to peep 
around a corner, to see the poor children pick up 
the marbles, but they never knew who their ben- 
efactor was ; and this pretty little experiment he 
repeated many a time, and seemed to take great 
delight in it. It was the impulse of a generous, 
unselfish heart, which led him to these little 
deeds of kindness, and no action of this kind is 
without its reward. We may sometimes have to 
struggle a little against the natural selfishness of 
our hearts, and we may even have to make some 
self-denials, before this habit becomes firmly 
established ; but the reward of a single really 



GENEROSITY. 



59 



generous action will richly repay us for all this 
and much more. 

Generosity and kindness are especially due to 
the unhappy. We should always be ready to 
succor those who are in sorrow or want ; we 
should pity and labor to reclaim those who have 
fallen into sin ; and we should love even those 
who injure and hate us. This is the beautiful 
law of the gospel. " If ye love them that love 
you," says our Saviour, " what thank have ye ? 
for sinners also love those that love them. And 
if ye do good to them which do good to you, what 
thank have ye ? for sinners also do even the same. 
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to re- 
ceive, what thank have ye ? for sinners also lend 
to sinners, to receive as much again. But love 
ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping 
for nothing again ; and your reward shall be 
great, and ye shall be the children of the High- 
est : for He is kind unto the unthankful and to 
the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your 
Father also is merciful." Luke 6 : 32 — 36. 

Rev. John Newton has beautifully illustrated 
this duty, in the following manner : — " I see in 
this world," he observes, " two heaps — one of 
human happiness and one of misery ; now, if I 
can take but the smallest bit from the second 



60 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



heap, and add to the first, I carry a point. If, as 
I go home, a child has dropped a half-penny, and 
if, by giving it another, I can wipe away its tears, 
I feel that I have done something. I should be 
glad, indeed, to do great things, but I will not 
neglect such little ones as these." These little 
things are what we all can do, and we should 
encourage ourselves with the thought that 

" The drying up a single tear hath more 
Of honest fame, than shedding seas of gore." 

I suppose that next to hatred of God, selfish- 
ness is the ruling principle among the fiends of 
hell. Those of our race who are supposed most 
to resemble fiends, are the men who are most 
thoroughly selfish. A vessel was once stranded 
on our coast, and as the crew and passengers, in 
momentary expectation of death, were straining 
their eyes towards the shore, they descried a small 
boat approaching them. How their hearts beat 
with joy, at the prospect of a speedy rescue ! The 
boat at length reached them, but instead of rescu- 
ing the drowning, its heartless occupants were 
intent only on filling it with valuable plunder 
from the wreck; and they actually robbed the 
bodies of the dead, while the living were implor- 



GENEROSITY. 



61 



ing their aid in vain ! What more could a fiend 
have done ? Yet this was only an exhibition of 
pure selfishness. And, my young readers, is this 
the sin you are now cherishing in your hearts ? 
0, tear it out, if it has found a lodgment there. 
It may be weak and small, now, but you know 
not what it may become, if suffered to remain in 
your bosom. 

" Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease, 
And though but few can serve, yet all may please ; 
Oh let th' ungentle spirit learn from hence, 
A small unkindness is a great offence." 



6 



62 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HONESTY. 

Two words defined — Different kinds of dishonesty — Rectify- 
ing mistakes — Taking advantage of another's ignorance — 
The fisher-boy and his " white stone " — Taking advantage 
of the necessity of others — Restoring lost articles — Ancient 
precepts and examples — Two examples in Boston, and 
their different results— Embezzlement of property— Other 
common forms of dishonesty — Dishonesty in trifles — Ex- 
cuses examined— Nothing gained by dishonesty — The 
reward of honesty — How a poor apprentice boy became 
Prime Minister of France — How a powerful king degraded 
and impoverished himself by dishonesty— Safety only in 
integrity — The unseen record — The perils and infatuation 
of the dishonest — The post-office clerk — Robbing orchards 
— Father Mill's story — The boys of Warsaw, N. Y. — Prus- 
sian boys — Danger of the first wrong step — The new clerk, 
and the test — Pilfering from employers. 

Honesty may be defined as a conformity to justice 
and correct moral principles. It springs from an 
upright disposition, or moral rectitude of heart, 
and has ever been regarded as one of the cardinal 
virtues, by all except the most degraded nations. 
A poet has said, 

" An honest man's the noblest work of God." 



HONESTY. 



63 



Reverse all this, and you have the definition of 
dishonesty — a vice which, though utterly con- 
demned by Christian and even heathen morality, 
is and always has been very common among men. 
The sad prevalence of dishonesty among the 
young, and especially among boys, admonishes 
me that this is a subject which I must not pass by 
in these pages. 

Dishonesty manifests itself in several ways. To 
take another's property, feloniously, without his 
knowledge or consent, is defined in our statutes as 
theft, or larceny. Where violence or threatening 
language is used, the crime is robbery. When 
another's property is taken with his consent ob- 
tained by deception or false pretences, it is fraud, 
or cheating. This was the crime of Gehazi, Elisha's 
servant, for which he and his posterity were 
afflicted with leprosy. 2 Ki. 5. These general 
terms are so familiar, that they need no farther 
explanation or illustration ; and I shall therefore 
leave them, and proceed to speak of some partic- 
ular forms of dishonesty, which are often deemed 
trivial offences, although they really come under 
the head of fraud, robbery, or theft. 

To refuse or neglect to rectify a mistake, in 
your own favor, is the same as stealing. If a 
man gives you back too much change, when you 



64 the boy's own guide. 



pay for an article, the extra sum should be 
returned, as soon as you discover the error. It 
makes no difference whether he detects it or not — 
the money is not your own, and you cannot 
honestly retain it. A few years ago, a man 
received from a bank in Glasgow a considerable 
sum of money to which he was not entitled, in 
consequence of the teller mistaking the amount of 
the check. The receiver quietly pocketed the 
money, and spent it, doubtless thinking he had 
made a " lucky hit." A short time afterwards, 
he stood at the bar as a felon ; and for not return- 
ing the money which was paid him by mistake, he 
was sent for fourteen years to Botany Bay. 

To take advantage of the ignorance of 
another in making a bargain, is dishonest. A 
boy who was old enough to know better, per- 
suaded a little child, who knew nothing of the 
value of property, to exchange a pocket-knife for 
an apple. What was this but stealing ? An 
orphan boy of twelve or fourteen years, who lived 
in Tennessee, and supported himself by fishing, 
in " making change " for a customer, drew out 
from his pocket a handful of various articles, 
such as pieces of twine, rusty fishhooks, mar- 
bles, &c, among which appeared a few dimes, 
and something that at once attracted the attention 



HONESTY. 



65 



of the buyer. He took and examined it, and was 
convinced that it was a large and valuable pearl. 
He asked the boy how he came by it. The latter 
replied that he had found it, with others of a 
smaller size, in muscle shells which he had picked 
up, while fishing, on the bank of the Tennessee 
river, — that he had thrown the rest away, but 
kept this because it was " big, white and pretty." 
The gentleman asked him what he would take 
for the stone. He said a " bit " or two — just as 
he pleased. Here was a chance for a " great 
bargain," sure enough — a pearl worth several 
hundred dollars, offered for a few cents ! But 
fortunately the gentleman thought more of honesty 
than of gain, and he frankly told the boy the 
value of his little pocket piece, and advised him 
to sell it, and devote the proceeds to his educa- 
tion — a proposition to which he gladly consented. 

It is also dishonest to take advantage of the 
necessity of another, in a bargain. " Sometimes," 
says the Merchants' Magazine, " we trade with 
those who are in great want, and we fix our own 
prices, and make them too high if we sell, or too 
low if we buy. There is a fair price for every 
thing. Let that be paid or taken for every thing. 
He who is just and true, and loves his neighbor as 
himself, will soon find out what a fair price is." 

6* 



66 THE boy's own guide. 



When a person finds and retains an article 
which has been lost, knowing the owner, he acts 
dishonestly. He should not only be ready to 
return it when demanded, but should take some 
trouble to seek out the owner, if the article is of 
any considerable value. The Roman lawyers laid 
it down as a sound maxim in jurisprudence, " that 
he who found any property and applied it to his 
own use, should be considered as a thief, whether 
he knew the owner or not." One of Solon's laws 
was, " Take not up what you laid not down." In 
England, in the time of Alfred the Great, about 
A. D. 888, this law was so much respected, that 
it is said golden bracelets which had been found 
and hung up in the public roads, were untouched 
by the finger of rapine. In Lev. 6 : 3, 4, and 
other passages, the refusal to restore lost articles 
is classed with theft. Our own laws regard the 
person who conceals or retains lost property, when 
the owner is known, as a thief. In Boston, since 
I commenced writing this chapter, a young man 
picked up a check for $50 in the street, and the 
next morning presented it to the bank for pay- 
ment, instead of returning it to the owner. He 
was immediately arrested, and is to be tried for 
larceny. Quite a different case occurred in the 
same city, not long ago. An errand boy picked 



HONESTY. 



67 



up a $1000 bill which had been dropped in the 
street. Some designing rogue, who learned the 
fact, offered him $500 for the bill, but he would 
not listen to the dishonest proposal ; and the next 
day, seeing the loss advertised, he promptly 
restored the whole amount to the owner, and 
received a gift of $50 for his integrity. That 
single triumph of principle will be to him a per- 
petual joy, as long as he lives ; and perhaps he 
will hereafter find that it has gained for himself 
friends, and a reputation for honesty, with which 
he would not part for many $1000 bills. 

To appropriate wrongfully to your own use any 
money or property intrusted to your care and 
management, is dishonest. This is called embez- 
zlement, in law, and is usually punished with great 
severity, since it involves a breach of trust. 
Young men who have the handling of large sums 
of money, belonging to their employers, sometimes 
venture to appropriate small amounts to their own 
use, intending perhaps to return the funds before 
they can be missed ; but often their calculations 
fail, and they are discovered, and ruined. A late 
teller in the largest banking institution in New 
England, a young man of highly respectable con- 
nections, and of excellent talents, and in whom 
unbounded confidence was placed, fell into this 



68 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



temptation, and is now in consequence a prison 
convict. 

Withholding from another his just due, is also 
robbery, and is so spoken of in the Bible. True 
we have bankrupt laws, which release the debtor 
from demands which he is unable to pay ; but 
should he afterwards acquire the means, he is 
morally bound to cancel these forgiven debts, and 
he will do so, if he is strictly honest. Wasting 
or injuring the property of persons by whom we 
are employed, is another and a very common 
species of dishonesty. Keeping or injuring bor- 
rowed articles, is also dishonest. Defrauding 
government by evading taxes and duties, or writ- 
ing on newspapers to save the postage of letters, 
is another common species of dishonesty. And to 
receive stolen property, knowing it to be such, is 
to share in the guilt of the thief. 

A multitude of excuses are sometimes brought 
forward, by those who have stooped to a dishonest 
act, but none of these will bear examination. " It 
was a mere trifle that I took," says one. Yes, but 
the crime lies in the act itself, not in the value of 
the article taken. There are some circumstances 
in life, in which the least departure from rectitude 
is ruinous and fatal. A clerk in the London post 
office was lately sentenced to seven years trans- 



HONESTY. 



69 



portation for stealing a single letter containing 
one shilling. Nor was this a cruel sentence, 
although, he had previously borne an unblemished 
character. The crime was measured by the intent, 
not by the loss, and a severe punishment was 
necessary, to deter others from a like breach of 
trust. Besides, who shall mark the line of division 
between innocent theft, (if there is such a thing), 
and guilty theft? If you may steal one apple, 
why not two, three, or a bushel ? 

" But it was only my mother that I took it 
from." Well, it matters not who owned it, so long 
as it was not yours. You have no right to steal 
either from your friends or enemies, — from stran- 
gers or from your companions. " But," says 
another, " the owner of the article I took did not 
need it, and I did." This does not justify you in 
stealing it, — if it did, all men might turn thieves. 
" He does not care — he would have given it to 
me if I had asked him." Then why did you not 
ask his consent to take it, and spare yourself a 
dishonest act ? "I did not enter his house, nor 
pick his pocket — I found it in the yard, and am 
not certain that it belonged to him." But do you 
not know that the contents of his garden or yard 
are as much his property as those of his pocket 
or his house ? Do you not know that " it violates 



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the law as truly, to go on to a neighbor's grounds 
and take apples, cherries, watermelons, currants, 
or even a flower from his garden, as to take his 
cloak or umbrella from his house ? " 

The fact that dishonesty is wrong, is sufficient 
reason for being strictly honest in our dealings 
with each other. But there is another argument 
in favor of honesty, which may encourage us in 
our determination to do right. It is this — no man 
ever gains any thing, in the long run, by dis- 
honesty. " Treasures of wickedness," says Solo- 
mon, " profit nothing. " Pro v. 10 : 2. In other 
words, " honesty is the best policy." Even the 
most unprincipled men have admitted this truth. 
ik If there were no honesty," said the unscrupu- 
lous Mirabeau, " it would be invented as a means 
of getting wealth." Some two hundred years 
ago, an apprentice to a French woolen draper 
sold a roll of cloth to a rich banker for fifteen 
crowns a yard, which was worth only eight 
crowns. He did not discover the mistake he had 
made until he returned with the money to his 
master, who was delighted with the bargain, and 
proposed to give the boy a share of the two hun- 
dred and ten crowns extra profit on the cloth. " I 
cannot agree to any such thing," said the honest 
lad, and he quickly darted off, leaving his master 



HONESTY. 



71 



in a rage of disappointment. In a few moments 
he was at the residence of the banker, to whom 
he returned the money, apologizing for the mis- 
take. The gentleman warmly commended him 
for his integrity, and inquired for his name; but 
as the boy left the house, he was seized by the 
collar by his employer, who abused him in the 
most passionate manner, and dismissed him from 
his service. 

Here, you say, is a case where honesty was 
not the best policy. But wait, and see. The lad 
returned to his parents, who heartily approved 
his conduct, though it had thrown him out of 
employment. It was but a short time, however, 
before the banker made his appearance at their 
humble home, and proposed to take the son to 
Paris, and put him in his banking house, where 
he might make a fortune. This excellent offer 
was readily accepted, and the boy, in his new 
sphere, was so faithful and conscientious that after 
a while the most important duties were entrusted 
to him. Thus rising from one post of honor and 
responsibility to another, he at length became 
known at court, and was created a marquis. He 
afterwards became the Prime Minister of France, 
and in this capacity he proved that he was as 
wise and good as he was honest. He established 



72 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



many excellent institutions, and conferred numer- 
ous other benefits upon the country • and to this 
day many of the results of his sagacious head and 
noble heart may be found in Paris. He also 
raised up his father's family from great poverty 
to wealth and honor. The name of this honest 
boy was Jean Baptiste Colbert, and the brief 
sketch of his life which I have given is a true 
one. It was to his honesty that he owed every 
thing. Had he yielded to the dishonest proposal 
of the woolen draper, when a boy, he might have 
been rewarded by a few ill-gotten crowns, but he 
would never have been Prime Minister of France. 

Even kings find it the best policy to be honest. 
Philip of Yalois, one of the kings of France, who 
reigned in the fourteenth century, undertook to 
raise money by secretly mixing base metals with 
the gold and silver of the realm. One might 
suppose that a despotic and unprincipled king, 
having complete control of the mint, would find 
this a very profitable way of cheating his sub- 
jects; but Philip died impoverished, for while 
his debased currency diminished his debts, it 
also diminished his revenues in the same pro- 
portion. This wicked system was adopted by 
many other kings, in ancient times; but, says 
a writer on this subject, " after centuries of 



HONESTY. 



73 



dearly-bought experience, the practice was reluct- 
antly abandoned, and is now universally exploded 
as essentially suicidal — just as suicidal, in fact, 
as all other infringements of the rule of right." 

The path of the dishonest is not only a wicked 
and impolitic one, but it is also highly dangerous. 
God has said, " Thou shalt not steal," and no 
command of His can be violated with impunity. 
It is said that there is an unseen dial connected 
with the gate at the entrance of Thames Tunnel, 
in London, which marks the entrance of every 
visitor to that wonderful work of mechanical art ; 
and should the toll-gatherers at any time attempt 
to cheat their employers, this little tell-tale would 
at once expose their dishonesty. There is a dial, 
unseen, and often forgotten, which records each 
act of our lives ; and seldom is it that it fails to 
expose us when we attempt to defraud or over- 
reach another. There stands the deed recorded 
by an unerring hand, and no effort of ours can 
obliterate it. It will speak out, if not now, at 
least in the day of final account. We can never 
be sure that the secret is safe, even for an hour. 
It may blaze forth to the world in a moment 
when least expected. There is safety only in 
strict integrity; and he who chooses any other 
course, will certainly find his ground, like the 

7 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



vale of Siddim, to be " full of slime pits." He 
can never know but the next step will plunge him 
into disgrace and ruin, and his comfortable home 
be exchanged for the gloomy cell of a prison. A 
sword is suspended over his head, which may 
drop at any moment. He may think of conceal- 
ment, but it is almost an absolute impossibility to 
practice fraud, deception, or robbery, for any con- 
siderable period, without the fact being discov- 
ered. It is astonishing to see the infatuation 
which dishonest men often exhibit on this point. 
I can compare their conduct to nothing but that 
of the foolish bird, which hides its head, and 
thinks it is concealed from its pursuers. When 
the dreadful clay of discovery comes, and they find 
themselves arraigned as criminals, and their inno- 
cent families plunged into sorrow on their account, 
how bitterly must they lament the course they 
have chosen ! A young clerk of nineteen was 
lately sentenced to be transported for twelve years, 
for stealing letters from the London post-office. 
He was considered honest and faithful, and was 
admitted to a situation of trust in the office ; but 
the tempter came, and in an evil moment he 
yielded. Thus for a trifling sum he threw away 
his good name, extinguished the hopes and pros- 
pects of his life, brought the bitterest of sorrows 



HONESTY. 



75 



upon his friends, and banished himself to a penal 
colony. What absolute fools does vice make of 
us, when we listen to its deceptive voice ! 

Before closing this chapter, I feel that I ought 
to make one or two special applications of this 
subject to my young readers. And first, there is 
a species of theft very common among boys, 
throughout the country, against which I would 
warn every lad whom I may address. I refer to 
the robbing of orchards. Are the thoughtless 
lads who indulge in this habit aware that they are 
as truly thieves as the man who steals a horse or 
pocket-book ? Can it be that they ever thought 
how contemptibly mean it is to strip a favorite 
pear or peach tree of its fruit, a day or two before 
it is ripe, and before the owner, who has watched 
and labored over it for months, has had an oppor- 
tunity to taste of it ? Yet these things are of 
such frequent occurrence, in this vicinity, as 
almost to discourage many persons from attempt- 
ing to cultivate choice fruits. Old Father Mills, 
of Connecticut, once administered a severe rebuke 
to the fruit-stealing boys of his town. In giving 
an account of a journey, he said, " I went up in 
Vermont, and found many excellent farms, and 
was surprised to see so much fine fruit. So I said 
to the good people, how do you manage to keep 



76 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



your fruit ? Don't the boys steal it ? I lose 
nearly all mine in that way. ' What ! ' they 
exclaimed, ' boys steal fruit ? we never heard of 
such a thing. Pray where do you live ? ' And I 
was obliged to tell them," said the old man, 
hanging his head, " that I lived in Torringford, 
in the State of Connecticut." But it seems Father 
Mills found a town where this system of petty 
thieving was not practiced, and I am happy to 
know that there are some places free from it, at 
the present day. A very pleasant instance has 
lately come to my knowledge, which I will record, 
with the hope that it may excite the emulation of 
lads in other places. On the school-house grounds 
of the village of Warsaw, JS T . Y., stand a butternut 
and an apple tree. Last summer and fall the 
teachers told the scholars that if they would let 
the fruit of these two trees alone till it could 
ripen, it should be gathered and saved for a feast- 
in the winter. Although two hundred scholars 
attended the school, they all agreed to let the 
fruit grow, ripen, and be gathered, and nobly did 
they keep their promise. In the winter a festival 
was held, at which the children were present, 
with their parents and friends, and the carefully 
preserved products of the school-house trees were 
shared and enjoyed by all. It was a pleasant and 



HONESTY. 



77 



happy scene, and afforded more real enjoyment 
to the pupils than they could have derived from 
eating the stolen fruit of a dozen orchards. 

In some countries, there is a public sentiment 
which protects trees from depredation, even when 
they are planted in the highways. An American, 
while traveling in Prussia, inquired of his coach- 
man why some of the fruit trees, with which the 
roads are lined by order of government, had 
wisps of straw attached to them. He replied that 
it was intended as a notice to the public not to 
take fruit from these trees without special per- 
mission. " I fear," said the American, " that 
such a notice in my country would be an invita- 
tion to attack them." " Have you no schools ?" 
was the significant rejoinder. 

If any lad who reads these pages is employed 
in a store, or is otherwise entrusted with the 
property of others, I would particularly warn 
him against the slightest departure from the 
course here recommended. Maintain your integ- 
rity, no matter what allurements may assail you. 
The French have a popular maxim, to the effect 
that " It is the first step which ruins;" and this 
is especially true of the dishonest. One step 
taken in the wrong path, the second follows natu- 
rally, and the third is still more easy. Integrity 

7* 



78 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



is a jewel precious above all price, and which 
will not bear the slightest tarnish. Once lost, no 
repentance or reparation can fully restore it. 
You know not how slight an act may bring sus- 
picion upon your character ; and I therefore re- 
peat the remark, there is no safety except in the 
strictest honesty. A merchant once took into 
his employ a young man, whose situation re- 
quired the strictest honesty and integrity, that 
perfect confidence might be placed in him. He 
therefore thought he would test his character as 
to these points at the earliest possible period. 
To do this, he deposited a small coin in a place 
where the young man would be likely to find it, 
and where he would suppose it had been acci- 
dentally lost and forgotten. The clerk found it. 
He might easily have retained it — it was but a 
trifle — no one would probably ever miss it. But 
no, it was not his, and he carried it to his em- 
ployer, and told him where he found it. This 
test was sufficient. The merchant ever after 
placed entire confidence in him, and had no fears 
of entrusting his business to his care. He acted 
upon the principle, " He that is unjust in the 
least, is unjust also in much." Luke 16 : 10. 

I can call to mind several young clerks, in 
Boston, of respectable families, who have been 



# 



HONESTY. 



79 



detected in purloining goods and money from 
their employers, within two or three years, and 
been sentenced to the House of Correction for the 
offence. There is reason to fear that there are 
hundreds of young men and lads in our large 
cities, who enjoy the confidence of their employ- 
ers, and are regarded as upright and respectable 
by the community, who are nevertheless in the 
habitual practice of pilfering from the tills and 
the shelves of which they have charge. In most 
cases, the habit commences by taking articles of 
very trifling value ; and this hardens the con- 
science, and emboldens the youth, until he is 
ready to appropriate to himself whatever he can 
safely lay his hands upon. A pilfering boy is 
almost sure to make a dishonest man. How sad 
it is to s-ee a youth make such a mistake at the 
outset of his career ! 0, that I could give these 
words of warning and advice ten-fold power, and 
impress them deeply upon the mind of every 
youth who is about to leave school, and enter 
upon the business of life. 



80 THE boy's own guide. 



CHAPTER VII. 

TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 

A common question — Importance of a character for truth — 
Definition of a lie — Different kinds of falsehoods — Keeping 
back the truth — Giving facts a false coloring — Breaking 
promises — Acting lies — Fibs and white lies — Lying in jest 
— Lying never justifiable — Sidney's noble sentiment — Ra- 
hab's falsehood — Bible precepts — The gains and losses of 
lying — An incident on Boston Common — Lying to screen 
the guilty — Falsehood a mean vice — A difficult habit to 
reform — It leads to other vices — The sad history of a lie. 

" What is his character for truth and veracity ?" 
This is a question we hear daily, in the family 
and school-room, in the counting-house and the 
shop, in the public street and in the retired 
dwelling. Every one who is familiar with the 
proceedings of courts, must have been struck at 
the frequent recurrence of this question, and the 
importance which is always attached to the an- 
swer. A character for veracity is of the utmost 
moment to all of us, and it should be firmly 
established in early life. So convinced were the 
ancient Persians of this, that it is said their boys 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 



81 



were instructed in only three things, from the 
age of five to twenty, one of which was, to speak 
the truth. But veracity is essentially a Christian 
virtue, and has stronger claims upon us than mere 
heathen moralists can appreciate. 

A lie is an untruth, uttered for the purpose of 
deception. The guilt lies in the attempt to de- 
ceive, and not in the words uttered. James was 
asked how many scholars attended the academy 
with him, and replied two hundred and seventy- 
five, which he supposed was the truth, although 
there were only two hundred twenty-five. But 
this was not a lie, because he did not intend to 
deceive the questioner. It was an unintentional 
misstatement — a form of error, however, against 
which we should always be watchful, though it is 
not to be counted as falsehood. For the same 
reason, a fable, parable, or other fictitious narra- 
tive, is not a lie, although the events it relates 
never really occurred. And here it should be no- 
ticed, that if we attempt to deceive any one, it 
makes no difference whether we are successful or 
not, so far as our guilt is concerned. The un- 
truth we utter with this purpose in our heart, is a 
lie, even if no one is deceived by it. 

There are many kinds of lies ; but, though 
they may differ in some unimportant respects, 



82 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



they are yet all essentially the same, and answer 
to the definition just given. First, there is the 
direct and downright falsehood, which nobody at- 
tempts to excuse or defend. Unfortunately, some 
seem to suppose that this is the only real species 
of falsehood, and that the various other forms 
which deception takes are innocent, or at least 
excusable. The error of this appears, when we 
remember that the true definition of a lie is an 
attempt to deceive. Let us notice some of the 
most common of these forms of lying. 

A person may incur the guilt of falsehood by 
keeping back a part of the truth. " Where have 
you been ?" inquired a father of his son, who had 
returned from school at a later hour than usual. 
" I went to the mill to do an errand for mother," 
was the reply. This was true, but it was not the 
whole truth, for the boy had also been sailing an 
hour or two, on the river, and it was principally 
this, and not his errand, that delayed his return. 
Was he not guilty of falsehood ? Did he not 
mean to deceive his father ? Let every youth re- 
member that " there is no truth but the whole 
truth" Half a truth is a whole falsehood. 

Again, we may state the facts of any case in 
full, and yet present them in such a manner that 
they shall convey a false impression. How com- 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 83 



mon it is, thus to give the truth an artful inter- 
pretation, or a false coloring, by the tone and 
manner with which it is related. 

Breaking promises is another common species 
of lying. If we promise what we know we can- 
not fulfill, or if we attempt to fulfill a promise in a 
manner different from what the language fairly 
implies, we are plainly guilty of falsehood. We 
may act a lie, as well as speak one. A shake of 
the head, or the pointing of a finger, may convey 
a false impression. " Which way did Charley 
go ?" asked a boy of one of his playfellows. The 
other pointed in a direction exactly opposite to 
the right one, and thus purposely put his compan- 
ion on the wrong track. Was not this as much a 
lie as though he had spoken it in so many words ? 
We may also sometimes- act a lie by merely keep- 
ing silence, when we ought to speak. Again, 
when a pupil presents to his teacher, as his own 
performance, a sum or composition wrought by 
another, he is guilty of falsehood. But I cannot 
enumerate all the varieties of lying. The princi- 
ple is the same, in all cases, and enough has been 
said to enable every reader to perceive the differ- 
ence between truth and falsehood. 

u But," says one, " many of these things to 
which you give the hard name of falsehood, are 



84 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



nothing more than fibs and white lies." And what 
is a fib ? I turn to my dictionary, and find that 
it is a word used among children, signifying " a 
lie or falsehood." A fib, then, is only another 
name for a lie. And what is a " white lie ?" I 
must confess I do not know, unless it is a false- 
hood. The Bible makes no distinction between 
" white lies " and " black lies," neither does any 
writer on morals with whom I am. acquainted. 
The fact is, there really is no such distinction ; 
but every deviation from perfect truth, with the 
intention of deceiving, is wrong. Even speaking 
falsely in jest, or exaggerating the facts of a 
story, for the sake of amusement, should be 
avoided, as having an evil tendency ; for " he who 
allows himself to lie in jest, will soon find him- 
self lying in earnest, and will in the end probably 
become an habitual liar." " I was only fooling 
him," is a frequent expression used among youth 
as an excuse for telling a falsehood ; but the habit 
is immoral and mischievous, and should be 
avoided by all who have a regard for truth. 

Perhaps some reader may like to inquire, " Is 
lying never justifiable ? Did not Eahab lie from 
a good motive, and was it wrong in her to save 
the lives of the spies by falsehood ?" I dare not 
take the responsibility of saying that a lie is in 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 



85 



any case justifiable. The Catholic church has 
taught this doctrine, as her numerous " holy 
frauds " bear witness ; but in this respect she has 
acted from Pagan rather than Christian morality. 
Several of the best heathen moralists of antiquity 
believed that falsehood might in many cases be 
innocent. The standard of Christian morality, 
however, makes no such concessions. When the 
immortal English patriot, Sidney, was told that 
he might save his life by telling a falsehood — by 
denying his own hand-writing — he said: — "When 
God has brought me into a dilemma, in which I 
must assert a lie, or lose my life, he gives me a 
clear indication of my duty, which is to prefer 
death to falsehood." " The religion of Christ,'' 
says Dr. A. Clarke, " is one eternal system of 
truth, and can neither be served by a lie, nor ad- 
mit of one." The same writer remarks, in regard 
to Rahab, that she was commended for her hospi- 
tality and faith, but not for her lie. " But could 
she have saved the spies without ? Yes, she 
certainly might. But what notion could a wo- 
man of her occupation, though nothing worse than 
an inn-keeper, have of the nicer distinctions be- 
tween truth and falsehood, living among a most 
profligate and depraved people, where truth 
could scarcely be known ? " 

8 



86 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



The teachings of the Bible, on the subject of 
lying, are so familiar to all, that I will quote but 
three or four passages. " Speak every man truth 
with his neighbor," says Paul ; and again, " Lie 
not one to another." A lying tongue is said in 
Proverbs to be one of the seven things which are 
an abomination to the Lord. And in the last and 
solemn chapter which concludes the Bible, it is 
declared that " whosoever loveth and maketh a 
lie," shall have his portion without the city of the 
Xew J erusalem, with idolaters and murderers. 

Even if there were no punishment hereafter 
for this sin, it would be the better policy to adhere 
to the truth. A man may sometimes secure an 
advantage, or escape an evil, by falsehood, but in 
the long run he will be a loser by pursuing this 
course. When Aristotle was asked what one 
could gain by a lie, he answered, " Not to be 
believed when he shall tell the truth." We often 
see this remark illustrated in life. When a man 
obtains the reputation of being a liar, he usuall}' 
has to bear the burden of many sins which do not 
really belong to him ; for nobody will believe his 
protestations of innocence, and he has no good 
character to ward off the shafts of enmit} T or sus- 
picion. There is no coat of mail equal to a well- 
established reputation for veracity. 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 87 



A year or two since, as two gentlemen were 
walking on the Boston Common, they saw a lad 
at some distance from them, apparently engaged 
in cutting the newly painted fence around the 
great elm tree. As they drew near, the boy 
ceased from his work, and sought to hide it by 
placing his back against the fence. One of the 
gentlemen asked him what he had been doing. 
The boy was silent. He was requested to move ; 
he did so, and the defaced paling was exposed. 
He was asked — Did you cut that fence ? " " I 
did, sir" was the calm reply. He was rebuked, 
for the deed, and promised to offend no more. 
As the gentlemen turned from the lad, one of 
them placed in his hand a quarter of a dollar, 
saying, " take this for telling the truth ; never tell 
a lie, let the consequences be what they may." 
Do you not think he felt happier for telling the 
truth than he would if he had denied the offence ? 

I have, in previous chapters, urged upon my 
young readers the cultivation of affectionate and 
generous dispositions; but care should be taken 
that these traits do not betray them into false- 
hoods for the sake of their friends. Many a lie 
is told to screen a friend from deserved censure 
or punishment, even by those who are usually 
careful to speak only the truth. I shall never 



88 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



forget a falsehood I once told in my boyhood, to 
avoid accusing an acquaintance of profaneness. 
Had 1 reflected a moment, I think I should have 
told the truth ; but the question was unexpected, 
and a well-meant but mistaken kindness led me 
to say no, when I should have said yes. I imme- 
diately began to regret my falsehood, but the 
dread of exposing my own sin, not less than the 
fear of injuring and offending my friend, deterred 
me from calling back that small but wicked and 
troublesome " no." This incident shows the 
importance of having the principles of truth so 
deeply wrought into our characters, that there 
will be no danger of our being even suddenly and 
unguardedly betrayed into a falsehood. 

Lying is properly regarded as a mean and 
cowardly vice. The ancient poet, Homer, says, 

" My soul detests him as the gates of hell, 

Who knows the truth, and dares a falsehood tell." 

And the Christian poet, Herbert, says, 

" Cowards tell lies ; * * * 
Dare to be true ! nothing can need a lie ; 
The fault that needs it most, grows two thereby." 



The liar defies God, but acts the coward 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 89 



towards man. A falsehood, then, is the offspring 
of presumption and meanness. How different 
from this, how exalted and noble, was the conduct 
of the brave woman-martyr mentioned by Jerome, 
who, when her body was stretched upon the rack, 
bade her persecutors do their worst, as she was 
resolved to die rather than lie ! 

The habit of lying is not only a mean one, but 
it is a difficult one to reform. The managers of 
the Massachusetts Reform School state in their 
reports that it is one of the most obdurate as well 
as common vices of the boys in that institution. 
The tongue is a difficult member to manage, 
especially after it has been accustomed for a con- 
siderable period to sin, without let or hinderance. 

Finally, lying leads to many other sins. It 
furnishes a plausible excuse for every crime, and 
a supposed shelter from punishment. It is the 
twin-sister of dishonesty, and neither of these vices 
can long exist alone. To illustrate this truth, I 
will close this chapter with a History of a Lie. 

Many years ago, a merchant of Philadelphia 
took into his store a boy of fifteen, whom we will 
call Daniel. Few lads ever left home with a 
better character, or with finer prospects for the 
future. He had been distinguished at home for 
his obedience, kindness, and respectful behavior, 

8# 



90 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



and every one who knew him, loved and admired 
him. He soon gained the esteem and confidence 
of the merchant to whom he had been apprenticed, 
by the conscientious discharge of his duties. One 
day, however, he went to a neighboring store a 
moment, to see a young man, who, during the 
interview, drew a glass of wine from one of the 
casks, and pressed him to drink. Daniel did so, 
and departed. The next day the same person 
stopped to see him ; and happening to be alone, the 
strong desire not to be behindhand with his new 
neighbor, overcame the scruples of conscience, 
and he treated him in turn to a glass of wine. In 
the hurry of the moment, he did not stop the 
liquor properly. His master came in — saw the 
neglect, and inquired, " Daniel, have you been at 
the wine cask ? " It was an awful moment to 
him ; he dared not pause to think — he yielded to 
the temptation, and answered tremblingly, " No, 
sir, I have not. 5 ' The old gentleman looked at 
him most searchingly, then turned and stopped 
the liquor tight himself. 

The next morning the same young man again 
came into the store, and asked the merchant to 
sell him a cask of wine such as Daniel had given 
him the evening before. The boy heard the 
request, and as his master looked towards him, as 



TRUTH AND FALSEHOOD. 



91 



if to warn him to tell the truth next time, the 
humiliation was more than he could bear* He 
took the first opportunity to see the young man, 
and entreat him to tell the merchant that he drew 
the wine himself. Thus it is that a second lie is 
almost sure to follow the first. Daniel's friend 
laughed, and told him he would for an oyster sup- 
per. The bargain was struck, and the new 
falsehood soon covered up the old one. But the 
poor boy was destitute of money. He had already 
taken several long steps in sin — why not take 
another ? He did take another, and resorted to his 
master's drawer for money to meet the expenses of 
the supper he had promised. 

While they sat in the cellar to which they had 
repaired, a gaming board was produced, and 
Daniel was asked to play for a small sum. The 
thought struck him that there was a chance to 
win the money he had taken from his master, and 
return it. He played and lost. He played again, 
and again, still he lost. His error was now of an 
alarming character. He became desperate — he 
took further sums of money from the counter, and 
again lost. It was missed — he saw himself liable 
to be discovered and ruined, and resolved at a 
single effort to retrieve his character, by procur- 
ing the sum deficient, and depositing it somewhere 



92 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



where it might seem to have been overlooked. He 
rose late at night— entered the store, took tiro 
hundred dollars, and went to a gambling house, 
where he was confident he could win the money. 
He lost every cent. The morning came, his 
employer happened not to examine the drawer 
which had contained the money himself ; and at 
ten o'clock he told Daniel to carry it to one of 
the banks. He had a large deposit in another 
bank, and the infatuated youth drew a check for 
$200, signed his master's name to it, presented 
it — and was detected. He confessed the whole 
affair when it was too late ; he had intended to 
deposit the money he thus attempted to draw in 
lieu of the money lost, and depend on chance 
to conceal the crime yet a little longer. Thus his 
brief career of sin was arrested, at least for a 
time, by shame, sorrow, and a prison. TV r e may 
learn from it the danger of indulging even in a 
single falsehood. 



AIMS 



AND 



PURPOSES. 



93 



CHAPTER VIII, 

AIMS AND PURPOSES. 

An aim necessary to success— Audubon without and with an 
aim — Forming purposes in early life — Various examples- 
Youthful hopes — Resolution and effort — An occupation 
necessary — Wrong and foolish aims — Ambition — Looking 
out for the future — Taking advice in regard to an occupa- 
tion — Going to sea — Aim at perfection in your calling — 
Living without a definite object — Pages in Congress — 
Obstacles must not frighten us from our purpose — Kitto, 
Stephenson and Hunter — Power of Resolution. 

These pages are designed to guide the young 
reader to usefulness, as well as to virtuous habits. 
That virtue is of very little worth, which does not 
make men useful citizens. But to be really useful 
to the world, it is necessary that we have an aim, 
or purpose. The archer who aims at nothing, 
will be likely to hit nothing. The ship that floats 
about without a rudder, will be far more likely to 
clash upon the rocks than to reach the desired 
haven. When you see masons and carpenters 
erecting a new building, you know they are not 



94 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



toiling at hap-hazard, but have a definite plan 
before them. They do not commence without 
knowing whether they are to build a barn or a 
dwelling-house, a church or a palace. So, when 
we set out to build up a good character or fortune, 
we must not forget that a plan or purpose is 
necessary to success. 

In the lives of all eminent men, this aim or 
purpose is the moving and guiding principle, and 
no greatness can be achieved without it. The 
great American naturalist, Audubon, was distin- 
guished from his boyhood for his love of the 
woods and fields, but he narrowly escaped living 
a useless life, and dying unknown and unregretted. 
He undertook long and tedious journeys ; he ran- 
sacked the woods, the lakes, the prairies, and the 
shores of the Atlantic ; he spent years away from 
his family. " Yet, will you believe it," says he, 
" I had no other object in view than simply to 
enjoy the sight of nature. Never for a moment 
did I conceive the hope of becoming, in any 
degree, useful to my kind, until I accidentally 
formed an acquaintance with the Prince of Musig- 
nano, (Lucien Bonaparte), at Philadelphia." The 
prince suggested to Audubon the idea of collect- 
ing and making public the treasures which had 
been amassed in his wild journeyings. For some 



AIMS AND PURPOSES. * 95 



time the naturalist's mind brooded over the kin- 
dling thought. It was a new idea — he seized it 
with delight ; it inspired him with a purpose, and 
turned the current of his enthusiastic love of 
nature into a useful channel. Life had now an 
object, and from that day, the before unknown 
Audubon was a new man. " In a little while," 
says Godwin, " he was the admired of all admir- 
ers. Men of genius — the Wilsons, the Koscoes, 
the Swainsons, suddenly recognized his lofty 
claims ; learned societies, without number, ex- 
tended to him the warm and willing hand of 
fellowship ; the houses of nobility were opened to 
him ; and wherever he went, the solitary, un- 
friended American woodsman was the conspicuous 
object of a wide remark and love." His works on 
the " Birds of America," have won for him a 
name which will be cherished with gratitude and 
admiration for ages to come. 

Most of my readers are probably old enough to 
begin to think about an aim. They now look 
forward with a deeper interest to the time when 
they shall be men, and it seems much nearer than 
it did a few years ago. They begin to feel that 
they have a part to act in the world, and they 
are daily becoming impatient to enter upon its 
accomplishment. All looks fair and bright ahead, 



96 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



and they long to realize the bright visions which 
their fancies paint. 

Now this is just the time to form a purpose for 
the future. This is the time to decide whether 
yon will be a useful or a useless member of 
society ; whether you will help forward or retard 
the cause of God and man. The prophet Samuel 
was only about twelve years old, when he began 
to prophesy. The great work of his life was 
decided upon and commenced at that early age. 
Lord Nelson entered the navy, and thus deter- 
mined upon his profession, when twelve years old. 
The celebrated preacher, Whitefield, decided to 
be a minister, in his boyhood, and wrote two or 
three sermons while washing mops and cleaning 
rooms in his mother's tavern. The Duke of Wel- 
lington chose the profession of war when a boy, 
and graduated from a military school at the age 
of seventeen. The great Duke of Marlborough 
manifested an irresistible ardor for the military 
profession, when only fifteen years old, and left 
the seductive splendors of the court, at that boyish 
age, for the arduous service of the field. The 
famous Russian general Suwarrow commenced his 
military career at the age of thirteen. William 
Wirt, the eminent American writer, commenced 
his intellectual career at the same age. Sir 



AIMS AND PURPOSES. 



97 



Humphrey Davy began his chemical experiments 
when a lad. Sir Robert Peel was brought up by 
his father expressly for the House of Commons, 
almost from his birth, and could make a tolerably 
eloquent speech before he was ten years old. It 
has been stated that the present head of the 
chemical department of Harvard University, had 
a laboratory fitted up at home for his sole use, 
when twelve years of age, in which he spent most 
of his time not devoted to his regular studies. 
The consequence of this early application was, 
that at the age of twenty-three, he had acquired a 
standing among the first chemists of the age, and 
was elected to his present important office. These 
men all commenced life with a definite aim, and 
it was to this early purpose, and the training 
which resulted from it, that they owed most of 
their eminence. I have selected but a few exam- 
ples out of hundreds which might be given. 

Youth is the period of hope. I have already 
alluded to the bright visions which you discover 
in the future. There are few boys who are not 
firmly convinced that they shall become happy 
and prosperous men. This sentiment is natural 
and universal. More than twenty-five hundred 
years ago, when the old men of Sparta used to 
sing at their festivals, 



98 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



M Brave youths were we in the days gone by," 
and the young men responded, 

" Brave youths are we, if ye doubt ye may try ;" 

the boys concluded the song with the words, 

" Braver youths far than ye, in our days we shall be." 

But it is idle to anticipate a bright future, if 
we make no preparation for it. There must be, 
first, the purpose or resolution, and then the 
effort. We cannot dream or wish ourselves into 
an honorable and useful position, nor can we float 
idly into the desired haven, without an aim or 
an effort. 

There is one principle which cannot be too 
deeply impressed upon the young, and that is, 
that an occupation of some kind is indispensable, 
both to our happiness and usefulness. A man 
who has no business, can have no noble aims. 
He is uneasy, restless and miserable. In shaping 
your aims, always keep this truth in remem- 
brance ; and never allow yourself to fancy that 
your anticipated " bright days " are to be idle 
ones. 

But there are wrong aims as well as right ones, 
and industry is often perverted to the worst uses. 



AIMS AND PURPOSES. 



99 



The man who strives to become an accomplished 
lock-picker or counterfeiter, may exhibit untiring 
industry and a steady purpose, but they are 
debased to a wicked object. Some men adopt 
aims which are foolish, trivial, and unworthy an 
immortal being. What do you think of the man 
who has no nobler ambition than to run faster or 
walk more miles in a day than any one else — an 
achievement in which some of the brute family 
far outstrip him ? I have seen boys who gloried 
in being able to walk on their hands, with their 
heels in the air, as though this were really an 
acquirement worthy of their ambition. Again, 
people sometimes allow themselves to become 
the victims of visionary aims, which can never 
be realized. A man recently died, who had spent 
fifteen or twenty years of his life, and an ample 
fortune, in attempting to invent a perpetual mo- 
tion machine — that chimera of mechanical sci- 
ence, the impossibility of which has been demon- 
strated, from the known law& of matter. Had he 
devoted the same ingenuity, patience and wealth 
to a practicable purpose, he would not have left 
the world without accomplishing any thing. A 
merely ambitious aim, is not a good one. There 
is a laudable ambition which mixes more or less 
with all our aims and purposes ; but this is very 



100 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



different from that inordinate, selfish and guilty 
ambition, which burns like a fire in the soul, 
when it becomes the master passion. Let it not 
be supposed, therefore, that in urging my readers 
to form a purpose, or adopt an aim, I would 
appeal to any merely ambitious motive. Neither 
do I advise any one to aim merely after enjoy- 
ment. It is right to desire to be happy, but if 
we have no higher aim than this, we have set our 
eyes upon a very low and selfish prize. In short, 
no matter what the leading purpose of our life 
may be, if it does not make us good and useful 
men, we may be sure that it is not a good aim. 
No one ought to adopt any occupation which will 
not stand this test. 

In your aims and purposes, you should also 
have regard to ultimate and permanent, rather 
than immediate profit. If possible, make it your 
aim to become a thorough master of some regular 
art, trade, business or profession. Boys are 
sometimes content to work year after year at 
some irregular or transient employment, because 
they can earn more in this way than they could 
if serving an apprenticeship to a regular business ; 
but generally they pay dearly in after years for 
the few extra dollars they thus acquire. They 
become men, and then find that they are capable 



AIMS AND PURPOSES. 



101 



of doing only boys' work and earning boys' 
wages. 

I have thrown out these few hints in regard to 
the choice of an occupation ; but after all, you 
should be influenced in your plans for the future 
by the advice of your parents and other grown- 
up friends. They can judge better than you 
what path it is best for you to follow ; and if 
they deem the profession of your choice an useless 
or immoral one, or if they think your qualifica- 
tions and tastes unsuited to it, you should respect 
their opinions, and seek some other path. The 
fact that you fancy a certain occupation at the 
age of fourteen or sixteen, is not certain proof that 
it is the one best adapted to you. In the towns 
along the coast of New England, a large propor- 
tion of the boys have an uncontrollable desire to 
go to sea ; and in the villages of the interior, 
most of the lads are equally convinced that the 
path to fortune lies in the great city. And yet 
one voyage is often enough to disgust the most 
enthusiastic sailor-boy with the sailor's life ; and 
of the thousands of lads who come to the city, not a 
few would have been happier and more useful in 
their own quiet country homes.^ 

* See further remarks on this subject in chapter 19th, on 
"The Love of Home." 



102 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



But whatever calling you may adopt, whether 
that of the mechanic, the farmer, the sailor, the 
merchant, or the professional man, let it he your 
constant endeavor to excel in it. Aim high — 
aim at perfection. I have heard of three boys, 
each of whom made a resolution in regard to his 
future conduct on receiving some "credits" for 
good behavior at school. " I will take care," said 
one to himself, " not to be much worse off next 
quarter than I have been this." " I will do my 
best," said another, " to equal my past efforts." 
" It shall not be my fault," said a third, " if I do 
not get many more credits this quarter than I 
ever did before." The result agreed with their 
resolutions ; the first boy was a little worse off 
than usual ; the second equaled his former suc- 
cess ; while the third gained a score more credits 
than he ever had in one quarter in the course of 
his life. No matter how humble a man's calling 
may be, he should aim to excel in it. Many 
men have raised themselves up in this manner to 
high and commanding positions. 

Two boys may have exactly the same training 
and opportunities, and be surrounded by the same 
influences, and yet the presence or absence of an 
aim, in their lives, will separate them, at the 
close of their days, as far as vice is from virtue. 



AIMS AND PURPOSES. 



103 



During the sessions of Congress, quite a number 
of pages are employed, who are mostly lads under 
fifteen years of age. Their business is, to deliver 
messages, letters, &c, for the members, and they 
not only receive large wages ($2 a day) but, if 
they are smart and prepossessing, they may obtain 
the patronage and favor of a sufficient number of 
members to secure an appointment to the Navy, 
or West Point, or to a clerkship. This would at 
first seem to be a good situation for a lad, and 
indeed it is considered a great object with a cer- 
tain class of families to procure for a son the post 
of page. But it has been observed that the 
influence of this apprenticeship to the government 
has a widely different effect on different individ- 
uals. One class graduate, after a year or two, 
self-conceited, indolent and profane youths, un- 
suited to any regular business ; while many 
others, by their good conduct, find themselves in 
the line of promotion, and are appointed to offices 
of greater responsibility and profit. The expla- 
nation of this is very simple. While one class of 
these boys appreciate the opportunities they enjoy, 
and determine to improve them, the others con- 
sider their fortunes as already made, and do not 
think of the future. The former have an aim 
and a purpose, the latter have none, 



104 THE boy's own guide. 



In conclusion, let me warn you against being 
frightened from your purpose by obstacles. Every 
one who aims high, even in worldly pursuits, will 
find many difficulties in his path, but he must not 
suffer himself to be turned aside by them. Do 
you think Dr. Kitto encountered no difficulties, as 
he worked his way up from the position of a poor, 
deaf charity-boy, to that of a learned biblical 
critic ? Were there no intervening obstacles be- 
tween George Stephenson, the trapper-boy in a 
coal-pit, and George Stephenson, the greatest 
engineer of his age ? " What !" said John Hun- 
ter, the first of English surgeons, originally a 
carpenter, " is there a man whom difficulties dis- 
hearten, who bends to the storm ? He will do 
little. Is there one who will conquer ? That 
kind of man never fails." " There is something 
in resolution," remarks an excellent writer, 
" which has an influence beyond itself, and it 
marches on like a mighty lord among its slaves. 
All is prostration where it appears. When bent 
on good, it is almost the noblest attribute of man ; 
when on evil, the most dangerous. It is only by 
habitical resolution that men succeed to any great 
extent — mere impulses are not sufficient." 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



105 



CHAPTER IX. 

STUDIOUSNESS. 

Hating study — A reflection yet to come — Walter Scott's 
confession — Education valuable to all — The profitable 
clay -bed — Value of knowledge acquired in youth — Diffi- 
culty of learning to spell in manhood — A few counsels 
from the Bible — Advice to school-boys — Hints for those 
who are denied school privileges — Illustrious examples — 
Self-education — A few words to those about leaving 
school — Studying at home — Successful examples — Cob- 
bett's experience — Thoroughness — Kossuth's method — 
The Brahmins — One step at a time — Concentration of 
mind — Voltaire's feat — The New Haven boys and their 
great sum — Danger of discouragement — Daniel Webster 
at school — An encouraging word for dull scholars — Learn- 
ing to think — What to read — Novels — Opinions of Johnson 
and Goldsmith — The works of Scott and Dickens — Effects 
of novel-reading on the mind — How to read profitably — 
Digesting the food of the mind — Composition — Letter 
writing — Keeping a journal — Laying foundation stones. 

" I hate study — it is a dry and irksome business, 
and I know I shall never learn to like it." How 
many times have I heard this or a similar remark 
from boys at school ! Indeed, I am not sure that 
I never made this same foolish observation myself, 



108 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



for like too many boys, I did not half appreciate 
the importance of study in my school days. If 
any lad whose eye is drawn to this page is guilty 
of a similar fault, I do not know as I can make 
him see his folly precisely as I see it ; but I can 
assure him that if he grows up to manhood, he 
will discover his error, some day or other, and 
bitterly lament that he did not improve the oppor- 
tunities of his youth. There is a reflection grow- 
ing out of those little words, " I hate study," 
which you may not perceive now, nor even for 
five or ten years ; but it will come in due time. 
That reflection will present itself in some such 
form as this : — " What a fool I was, to neglect 
study in my childhood, when I had an opportu- 
nity to learn. Xow I find myself an ignorant 
man, without respect or influence, and unable to 
better my social position. I can't cultivate my 
mind, now, because I have never learned to study ; 
and if I could, I have no time to devote to it. 
While one and another of my old schoolmates are 
rising to distinction and influence, and are always 
ready to step forward when a good chance opens 
before them, I am like a horse in the mill, always 
plodding in the same old path. My children 
shall not fall into my error, but as for myself, I 
suppose I must live and die an ignorant man, — 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



107 



and all, because I loved play better than books in 
my youth." 

Even if those who neglect study in their youth 
succeed, in after years, in acquiring knowledge, 
they never can make good the loss they suffer 
from their early negligence. I will give you, on 
this point, the testimony of Sir Walter Scott, who 
gave little attention to study in his boyhood. He 
says : — " If it should ever fall to the lot of youth 
to peruse these pages, let such readers remember 
that it is with the deepest regret that I recollect 
in my manhood the opportunities of learning 
which I neglected in my youth ; that through 
every part of my literary career I have felt 
pinched and hampered by my own ignorance ; 
and I would this moment give half the reputation 
I have had the good fortune to acquire, if by 
doing so, I could rest the remaining part upon a 
sound foundation of learning and science." 

I would have every reader remember, that 
whatever his profession or business may be, here- 
after, he will succeed in it better from having 
stored his mind with knowledge in his youth. 
Even if he expects to labor only with his hands, 
he should remember that the head can teach 
them many valuable lessons. The farmer must 
not only teach his hands to plough, and sow, and 



108 the boy's own guide. 



reap, but there are many branches of science 
which he ought to teach his head, if he would 
excel. The same is true of the mechanic and the 
merchant. A young man, while traveling in 
Maine for the purpose of obtaining subscribers to 
a newspaper, one day happened to notice some 
bricks of a peculiar color. After examining 
them, he traced them to their clay-bed, purchased 
the farm on which it was situated, for fifteen hun- 
dred dollars, and on going to Boston, sold one 
half of it for four thousand dollars. The secret 
of his success was, he had a little knowledge of 
geology and chemistry, which taught him that 
the peculiar clay which the farm contained could 
be applied to a more valuable purpose than the 
manufacture of bricks. Thus you see that knowl- 
edge is sometimes gold, as well as power. 

There are many reasons why early knowledge 
is important. It is retained longer in the mind 
than knowledge acquired later in life. " The les- 
sons of infancy," says an Arab proverb, " are 
graven on stone ; but the lessons of riper years 
disappear like the tracks of birds." Knowledge 
is also more easily acquired in youth than in af- 
ter life. The mind is then like a blank book, 
whose pages are all clear, and ready to receive 
the impressions of the pencil. It is easy to write 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



109 



in such a book ; but if neglected a few years, the 
mind resembles a volume whose dingy leaves have 
been scribbled over at random till it is difficult to 
enter any clear or useful record upon them. It 
is nearly impossible to learn some of the element- 
ary branches of knowledge, after a certain age. 
A writer on this subject has observed, that if ac- 
curacy in spelling is not acquired before the age 
of ten or twelve, it will never be attained. I 
think there are exceptions to this remark, but I 
have heard of many learned men, authors, clergy- 
men, lawyers, &c, who were thorough masters of 
much more difficult branches of knowledge, but 
had failed to break up early habits, and acquire 
correctness in spelling. Such facts show us the 
importance of early knowledge, and should stim- 
ulate every youth to a right improvement of his 
time and opportunities. 

From the foregoing remarks, it will readily be 
seen that it is a great privilege to enjoy opportu- 
nities and facilities for study. But in thinking 
of the privilege, you must not forget that there is 
a duty connected with it. " Apply thine heart 
unto instruction," says the Word of God, " and 
thine ears to the words of knowledge." " Bay 
the truth, and sell it not ; also wisdom, and in- 
struction, and understanding." Prov. 23 : 12, 23 ? 

10 



110 



TUB BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



You all remember the commendation which God 
bestowed upon Solomon, because he did not ask 
for riches, honor, success in war, or long life, but 
for knowledge and wisdom. I have no doubt that 
God looks with peculiar approbation upon those 
youth whom he sees diligently laboring to im- 
prove their minds, that they may be fitted for 
greater usefulness in after life. 

To such of my readers as are attending school, 
I would say, study diligently the course marked 
out by your teachers. Remember that schools 
are supported at great expense, and strive to im- 
prove faithfully the privileges thus provided for 
your benefit. Do not aim to get your lessons 
merely for recitation and show, or to excel others, 
but study from principle, and with a desire to 
improve the intellect which God has given you. 
Bear in mind that the knowledge and mental dis- 
cipline you are now acquiring, will be very valu- 
able to you hereafter. You may not now see the 
use of studying certain branches, but you will 
perceive it hereafter. When Columbus was a 
school-boy, he studied geography very thorough- 
ly, little thinking how useful the knowledge thus 
obtained would be to him in after-life. Reading, 
writing and arithmetic are indispensable to every 
one, and you should make yourself as perfect as 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



Ill 



possible in these branches, or you will painfully 
feel the need of them every day of your life. 
Some knowledge of spelling, grammar, geography, 
&c, is very necessary, even to the lowest standard 
of education ; and other studies will be taken up, 
according to the time and ability of the scholar. 

If any reader is denied the privilege of attend- 
ing school, let me assure him that teachers and 
schools are not indispensable to study. They are 
invaluable helps, it is true ; but since all cannot 
enjoy their aid, it is consoling to know that many 
have become wise without them. James Furguson, 
the celebrated Scotch astronomer, learned to read 
without an instructor, and mastered the elements 
of his favorite science, while a shepherd's boy, 
watching his flocks in the fields by night. Sir 
William Phipps, a former Governor of our own 
State, learned to read and write after entering 
upon his eighteenth year, and while serving an 
apprenticeship to a ship-carpenter in Boston. 
William Cobbett never went to school, and 
learned even the alphabet without a teacher. 
Watt, the improver of the steam-engine, edu- 
cated himself in his workshop, and learned Latin, 
French and German, when he needed these lan- 
guages to prosecute his business. Roger Sherman 
was apprenticed to a shoemaker early in life, but 



112 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



instead of joining in the idle conversation of his 
companions, he kept an open book upon his bench, 
that his eyes might rest upon its pages whenever 
they could be spared from the occupation of his 
life. Henry Clay exchanged the humble district 
school for a situation as an errand-boy in a drug- 
store, at the age of fourteen ; and I believe the 
only time he regularly devoted to the work of ed- 
ucation, after this, was a single year spent in 
reading law. Thousands of similar instances 
might be adduced, were it necessary, to show that 
education does not depend upon teachers and 
schools. President Hopkins has wisely observed, 
that every man who is educated at all, is, and 
must be, say-educated. Daniel Webster uttered 
the same truth, when he said, — " The Creator has 
so constituted the human intellect, that it can 
only grow by its own action, and by its own ac- 
tion it will certainly and necessarily grow. Ev- 
ery man must therefore educate himself. His 
books and teachers are but helps ; the work is 
his." This sentiment should be impressed upon 
the mind of every youth who has been denied the 
advantages of the school-room. True, he is de- 
prived of a valuable assistant ; but let him not 
give up all attempts at mental culture, on this 
account. 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



113 



To those who are about leaving school, I would 
say, do not throw aside your books and studies 
when you are released from the constraints of the 
school-room. Your education is not finished — it 
is but begun. You will soon forget much of the 
knowledge you have acquired, unless you often re- 
cur to your books. The mind is like a polished piece 
of metal, which needs to be rubbed a little daily, 
to keep it bright. By keeping up your studies at 
home, you will not only retain the ground already 
won, but be able to make yet larger advances in 
knowledge. To do this successfully, if engaged 
in daily labor, you must improve those leisure 
moments and fragments of time in " rubbing up " 
the mind, which so many waste in lounging about 
the streets, or in idle tattle, foolery, or sleep, at 
home. These spare moments are grains of pre- 
cious gold dust, and should be treasured with 
watchful care. They have performed wonders 
for others, and will do so for you, if you give 
them a chance. 

Dr. John Mason Good composed his long and 
elaborate poetical translation of Lucretius in the 
streets of London, while passing from one patient 
to another. Dr. Burney, the distinguished mu- 
sician, learned the Italian and French languages 
on horseback, while riding from place to place to 

10* 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



give his professional instructions. William Hut- 
ton, a well-known English writer, went to work 
in a silk-mill at the age of seven, and remained 
till he was fourteen, and afterwards served an ap- 
prenticeship to a stocking-weaver ; but he found 
leisure to educate himself, and became a prolific 
writer. Hugh Miller, who is equally eminent as 
a geologist and a writer, was a stone-mason, not 
many years ago ; and he would have been labor- 
ing in the same useful but humble capacity to- 
day, instead of delighting thousands of readers, in 
this and the old world, with the instructive pro- 
ductions of his pen, but for a diligent improve- 
ment of his leisure moments. William Cobbett, 
a celebrated English writer, to whom I have al- 
ready referred, says, " I learned grammar when J 
was a private soldier on sixpence a day. Th( 
edge of my guard-bed was my seat to study in 
my knapsack was my book-case, and a board ly 
ing on my lap was my desk. I had no money t 
buy candles or oil ; in winter it was rarely that 
could get any light but that of the fire, and only 
my turn even at that. To buy a pen or a sheet 
of paper, I was compelled to forego a portion of 
food, though in a state of starvation. I had no 
moment at that time that I could call my own, 
and I had to read and write amid talking, sing- 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



115 



ing, whistling and bawling of at least half a score 
of the most thoughtless of men, and that, too, in 
hours of freedom from control. And I say, if I, 
under circumstances like these, could encounter 
and overcome the task, can there be in the whole 
world a youth who can find excuse for non-per- 
formance ?" Think of these examples, you whose 
evenings are now spent on store-boxes, or at the 
corners of the streets, or in listless idleness at 
home. Think whether it would not be better for 
you to devote these spare hours to intellectual 
culture, and thus enlarge the sphere of your in- 
fluence in the world, as well as augment the 
measure of your own enjoyment. Now is the 
time to decide the question ; and remember that 
-ndecision is a wrong decision. 

In pursuing your studies, you should aim to go 
horoughly, as far as you do go. You had better 
.0 through only twenty pages of your arithmetic, 
id understand them thoroughly, than accomplish 
the whole book in the " skip and jump " fashion. 
VVhen Kossuth commenced the study of the Eng- 
lish language in an Austrian prison, he spent two 
whole weeks in getting through the first page. 
" I have a certain rule," he says, " never to go on 
reading any thing without perfectly understanding 
what I read. So I went on, and by-and-by I 



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THE BOY'S OWtf GUIDE. 



became somewhat familiar with your language." 
It is said that hundreds and thousands of Brah- 
mins in India spend ten or twelve years in learn- 
ing to recite the sacred books of their religion, 
without understanding one single syllable of all 
they learn at such an enormous sacrifice ! I fear 
there are some young Brahmins in this country, 
who take a good deal of pains to commit to mem- 
ory words which they do not understand. This 
is not study ; it is only filling the mind with the 
empty husks and shells of knowledge. I have 
heard of a parrot which could answer a number 
of questions in history ; and I sometimes think 
that he knew as much about his lesson as many 
children do, who appear to commit their tasks to 
memory, without understanding them. 

When you are unable to comprehend a lesson, 
you will find it a good plan to take up a single 
word, line, proposition, or rule, and master it 
alone, and then proceed to another. A great 
philosopher has told us, (and it is a line worth 
remembering,) that, " The chief art of learning is 
to attempt but little at a time." Be content to 
take one step at a time, and the greatest difficul- 
ties will soon vanish. 

One reason why many youth make such slow 
progress in study is, that they will not give their 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



117 



minds to their lessons long and earnestly enough, 
at a time, to master them. Their thoughts are 
constantly on the wing, flying hither and thither, 
now resting a moment on the lesson, and now 
darting off in pursuit of some trifle. This is not 
the way to study. The time devoted to your 
studies should be sacred from the intrusion of 
idle thoughts ; every thing else should be forgot- 
ten, and all your powers should be concentrated 
upon the subject of the lesson. This very desir- 
able habit can be acquired by a little effort. 
Voltaire could multiply the nine digits into the 
nine digits, without making a figure, in the course 
of a long walk, and this has been considered a re- 
markable evidence of his power of abstraction ; 
but Mr. Lovell, the teacher of a school in New 
Haven, affirms that many of his pupils have done 
the same feat in five minutes, the figures being 
arranged in any order that is desired. Two boys 
in the same school multiplied twenty-one figures 
by twenty-one figures, and gave the correct an- 
swers, one in forty and the other in forty-five 
minutes, without setting down a single figure, the 
process being entirely mental, or " in the head," 
as it is termed by children. It required forty-two 
figures to express the product of this sum, and 
yet these lads, by training their minds to habits 



118 THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



of close attention, were able to go through this 
long and elaborate mental process without an 
error. I do not suppose that all can carry this 
habit to such perfection as these two lads did, 
but Mr. Lovell thinks that any boy of ordinary 
capacity can learn to accomplish Voltaire's feat — 
the mental multiplication of nine figures by nine 
figures. I have no doubt that most scholars 
would find their lessons much easier and pleas- 
anter, if they would but learn to give strict at- 
tention to them, during the hours of study. 

But do not be discouraged nor envious, if some 
of your companions make greater progress than 
yourself. Their advantages may have been 
greater, or they may be gifted with higher tal- 
ents ; in either case, you are not to blame if they 
surpass you. When Daniel Webster entered Ex- 
eter Academy, he was constantly laughed at and 
annoyed by the more advanced scholars, because 
he was fresh from the backwoods, and at the foot 
of the class. They soon repented of their foolish 
and ungenerous conduct, when the " new boy " 
was placed at the head of the class by their 
teacher, for his good scholarship. If any reader 
is disposed to be discouraged, not from lack of 
advantages, but because he cannot learn so fast as 
many other boys, I can only say, that many of 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



119 



the most learned and gifted men who have ever 
lived, experienced the same trouble in their 
youth. It was thus with Sir Isaac Newton, with 
Sheridan, Goldsmith, and Shakspeare, with Dry- 
den, Walter Scott, and Milton, with Swift, Isaac 
Barrow, and Ebenezer Elliott. Dr. Scott, the 
commentator, could not compose a theme when 
twelve years old ; and even at a later age, Dr. 
Adam Clarke, after incredible effort, failed to 
commit to memory a poem of a few stanzas only. 
At nine years of age, one who afterwards became 
a Chief Justice in this country, was, during a 
whole winter, unable to commit to memory the 
little poem found in one of our school-books, 

" You'd scarce expect one of my age," &c. 

It is often the case that the dull scholar, by care 
and pains-taking, in the end outstrips those who 
are gifted with better parts, but are careless and 
negligent in their studies. Our powers expand 
with cultivation. It is on the same principle 
that the fingers of the deaf and dumb, and of 
great violinists, frequently attain an extraordina- 
ry length, by constant use. 

In pursuing your studies, remember that edu- 
cation does not consist in merely storing the 



120 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



mind with facts. This is but a part of the work. 
Besides laying in a store of information, the mind 
must learn to exercise its powers. The reason, 
the understanding, the judgment, the taste, are to 
be cultivated, as well as the memory. " The aim 
of education," says Beattie, " should be to teach 
us rather how to think than what to think — 
rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us 
to think for ourselves, than to load the memory 
with the thoughts of other men." 

Those of you who have access to books, may 
greatly improve your minds by a judicious course 
of reading. Books of history, biography, travels, 
natural history, &c, adapted to youth, are now 
abundant, and afford far more profitable reading 
than the collections of stories, fairy tales, and 
other fictitious productions, which are so fre- 
quently preferred by the young. The Bible, and 
the religious and moral books usually found in 
the Sabbath school library, should also be included 
in the list of works appropriate to your age. I 
would especially warn you against acquiring a 
taste for what is called " light reading." This is 
not the place to discuss at length the subject of 
novels, but I feel no hesitation in saying that this 
class of works should always be avoided by the 
young. If read at all, it should be only by those 



STUDXOUSNESS. 



121 



whose heads are too old to be turned by the 
romantic notions and unreal views of life which 
they generally inculcate. 

Dr. Johnson, after examining a collection of 
novels and other light works, in the library of 
Garrick, the play-actor, remarked, " I was deter- 
mined to examine some of your valuables, which 
I find to consist of three sorts, stuff, trash, and 
nonsense" Dr. Goldsmith, who had himself 
written a novel, in writing to his brother respect- 
ing the education of his son, uses this strong 
language : — " Above all things, never let your son 
touch a novel or romance. How delusive, how 
destructive are those features of consummate bliss ! 
They teach the youthful to sigh after beauty and 
happiness that never existed ; to despise the little 
good that fortune had mixed in our cup, by ex- 
pecting more than she ever gave ; and in general 
— take the word of a man who has seen the world, 
and studied it more by experience than by pre- 
cept — take my word for it, I say, that such books 
teach us very little of the world." 

A late writer in one of the religious journals, 
shows that even Scott and Dickens, — who have 
been regarded as the most unexceptionable of the 
great novelists, — give very false representations of 
true evangelical religion in their works ; asso- 
11 



122 the boy's own guide. 



ciating with piety, the vices of meanness, avarice, 
hypocrisy, and a general lack of the genial affec- 
tions and sweet courtesies of life. Reading of 
this kind unfits the mind of the young for study 
and thinking, and destroys the taste for more 
solid works. Novels have been justly termed 
" the alcohol of the mind." If acquired early, the 
taste for them is apt to grow with fearful power, 
until at length the mind greedily devours every 
fictitious work that falls in its way. I have heard 
of a young man who had read three thousand 
volumes of fiction in four years ! What a waste 
of time and of mind ! This vicious habit is fatal 
to study and intellectual improvement, and must 
be avoided by all who desire to cultivate their 
mental powers. 

A great deal depends, also, upon the manner 
of reading. Two boys may read the same book, 
and after they have finished it, you will find that 
one of them can repeat to you the substance of 
the work, while the other remembers only the last 
page or chapter. This is because one reads 
attentively, fixing in his mind and digesting the 
thoughts of the author, while the other reads 
without thought or attention. One book, read in 
the first way, is worth a hundred read in the 
other. I have spoken of digesting your reading- 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



123 



If you have studied physiology, you know that 
our food must go through this process, before it 
can become part and parcel of our bodies. Now, 
when we read, we are eating mental food, and it 
is by thinking that we digest it. A poor woman, 
who lived in the mountains of Kentucky, received 
a book from a stranger. It was a long time since 
she had seen a book, and she sat up all night to 
read it. Afterwards, meeting the person who 
gave it to her, she said, " I feel as if my mind 
had eaten something." This is the way to read 
with profit. 

You should also accustom yourself to compo- 
sition. You will find this a most valuable acqui- 
sition, as you advance in life. The ability to 
express your thoughts correctly with the pen, will 
enhance your usefulness and enjoyment, and yield 
you a richer reward than thousands of dollars on 
interest. It is not so difficult to learn to compose 
as the young are apt to suppose. Put one thought 
upon paper, just as you would speak it, and an- 
other, and yet another, will quickly follow. Thus 
by degrees, by taking one step at a time, you soon 
fill a page ; and the more you practice, the more 
readily you will write. If you have absent friends, 
frequent correspondence with them will not only 
keep alive your interest in them, but will also 



124 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



furnish, you with a most useful mental exercise. 
Keeping a journal is another excellent practice. 
If you are at school, record daily the more impor- 
tant events which occur in your little world, — 
your progress in study, &c. If employed at a 
trade, or in a shop, note down whatever comes 
under your daily observation that is worth remem- 
bering. If you are a farmer, note all the passing 
events of the farm. In doing this, you will 
acquire habits of observation, and of correct 
writing ; and hereafter, if you preserve these 
records, they will be more valuable and precious 
to you than any volume you can procure from the 
bookstore. They will bring back the past with 
vivid distinctness, and sometimes a few simple 
lines will let loose a flood of pleasing recollections, 
which would otherwise have been buried in for- 
get fulness, until the great book of remembrance 
shall be opened. 

But I must bring this long chapter to a termi- 
nation. Many other suggestions might be thrown 
out on the subject of study, but the plan and 
compass of this book will permit me to present 
only the leading points. In concluding, allow me 
to remind you that you are laying the foundation 
of your future lives. When preparations were 
making for the erection of the immense stone 



STUDIOUSNESS. 



125 



Custom House in Boston, I remember being struck 
with the care and time expended on the founda- 
tion. For one or two years, the building seemed 
to make no progress, though men and machinery 
were daily at work. Their labor was spent in 
sinking immense numbers of piles or timbers, and 
laying deep courses of foundation stones. But 
these piles and stones, though entirely invisible, 
are of the utmost importance to the edifice. So 
you will hereafter find that the lesson well learnt, 
the difficulty surmounted, the habit of study and 
attention formed, the discipline of the school, 
each is a pile or foundation stone in your char- 
acter. It may sink into the mind, out of sight, 
and for a time seem useless, but it is there, and 
its use will one day be apparent. Lay thoroughly 
these foundation stones, if you would rear a build- 
ing to be honored and admired, and to stand the 

rude shocks of the future. 
11* 



126 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTEE X. 

INDUSTRY. 

A busy world — Something for all to do — Industry inculcated 
by the Bible — The lazy monk — Industry rewarded — Ex- 
amples of eminent men — The idler a worthless fellow — 
And a fool — The miseries of idleness — The beautiful coun- 
try seat — Idleness and death — Anecdote — The wrecked 
sailors — A missionary's testimony — Solitary imprisomnen 
— Mental diseases caused by idleness — Poverty and want 
■ — indolence a sin — The parent of other vices — Dr. D wight's 
experience — Statistics of the Keform School — A prisoner's 
hatred of labor — Useful lads — Henry Clay's boyhood — 
Adam Clarke's — Industrious amusements — The miniature 
steam engine — A few words for apprentices — Early rising 
— The examples of Cobbett, Dr. Barnes, and others — Idle 
hours — Killing time — Value of time — Useful labor a privi- 
lege. 

Did you ever think what a busy, stirring world 
we live in ? All created things are in motion. 
One of the great laws of nature is action. Even 
the globe on which we dwell is subject to this 
law, and turns ceaselessly on its axis, and revolves 
around its appointed course. There is nothing 
fixed in all the universe. Astronomers speak of 



INDUSTRY. 



127 



" fixed stars," but there is not an orb in the 
firmament which does not forever move restlessly on, 
until stopped by the Almighty Hand which set it 
in motion. Activity and life are inseparable. 
Inaction belongs only to death. And shall man 
alone be inactive, slothful, and idle, while all else 
is full of life and animation ? Has he not a work 
to do, that requires restless activity, and ceaseless 
toil ? Have any of you a special letter-patent 
from the Creator of all, exempting you from the 
operation of the great and universal law spoken 
of above ? If not, then do not allow yourself to 
think of living an idle life. Be assured there is 
work for you to do, in some field or other. 

u Who's born for sloth V To some we find 
The ploughman's annual toil assigned ; 
Some at the sounding anvil glow. 
Some the swift-sliding shuttle throw; 
Some, studious of the wind and tide, 
From pole to pole our commerce guide ; 
While some, of genius more refined, 
With head and tongue assist mankind. 
In every rank, or great or small, 
'Tis industry supports us all." 

The duty of industry is insisted upon very 
strenuously in the Bible. It is embraced in one 
of the ten commandments : " Six days shalt thou 



128 



THE boy's own guide. 



labor" not play, sleep, or lounge about, " and do 
all thy work." Ex. 20 : 9. The apostle Paul 
commanded, " that if any one would not work, 
neither should he eat," 2 Thes. 3: 10. It 
probably is not necessary to repeat the numerous 
similar passages which are scattered over the 
pages of the Bible ; they are, or should be, familiar 
to all. No one who believes in the Scriptures, 
can escape the conviction that industry is one of 
the duties of man. 

It is related that a certain monk once went to 
the convent at Mount Sinai, and finding all the 
brethren at work, shook his head, and said to the 
abbot, " Labor not for the meat which perisheth," 
and " Mary hath chosen that good part," " Very 
well," said the abbot, and he ordered the new 
comer to a cell, and gave him a book to read. 
Here the monk remained hour after hour, and 
presently he became hungry and weary, and 
wondered much that nobody called him to dinner 
or offered him refreshment. At length night 
came, and he being unable to endure his hunger 
longer, he proceeded to the apartment of the 
abbot, and inquired, " Father, do not the brethren 
eat to-day ? " " 0, yes," was the reply, " they 
have eaten plentifully." " Then how is it, father," 
continued the monk, " that you did not call me 



INDUSTRY. 



129 



to partake with them ? " " Because, brother," 
replied the abbot, " you are a spiritual man, and 
have no need of carnal food. For our part, we 
are obliged to eat, and on that account we work ; 
but you, brother, who have chosen the ' good 
part,' you sit and read all the day long, and are 
above the want of the meat that perisheth." The 
" spiritual man " confessed his mistake, and there- 
after was content to labor with the others. 

God has been pleased to annex to every duty a 
reward, as he has a penalty to every transgression. 
The blessings which now from industrious habits 
are numerous and important. " The hand of the 
diligent maketh rich." Prov. 10 : 4. This is one 
of them, and how exactly was it fulfilled in the 
case of Astor, and Girard, and McDonough, and 
others without number, who acquired immense 
fortunes by habits of industry and close applica- 
tion to business. " The hand of the diligent shall 
bear rule." Prov. 12 : 24. This is another of 
the rewards of industry, and we find it illustrated 
in the lives of such men as Caesar, Washington, 
Napoleon, and other eminent rulers, who were all 
renowned as hard-workers. Solomon raised Jero- 
boam to an important station in the kingdom, 
while he was yet a young man, for the reason 
that he " was industrious." 1 Ki. 11 : 28. Again 



130 THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 

we read, " The sleep of a laboring man is sweet." 
Ec. 5 : 12. This is another of the rewards of 
industry, and by no means an unimportant one, 
as many an idle man can testify, whose restless 
nights atone for listless days. Industry and 
health are intimately associated. " The soul of 
the diligent shall be made fat." Prov. 13 : 4. 
You will usually find that men of large and liberal 
souls are men of industry. " Seest thou a man 
diligent in his business? he shall stand before 
kings ; he shall not stand before mean men." 
Prov. 22 : 29. This reward was literally be- 
stowed upon Franklin, who was a ceaseless worker 
from boyhood, by means of which he raised him- 
self high in honor. All eminent men — all who 
have been successful in their personal aims, or 
have conferred great blessings upon mankind — 
have been men of untiring industry ; and most of 
the names which appear brightest on the page of 
history, are those of men who were trained up to 
work with their hands, as well as their heads. 
Could they tell us the secret of their greatness, it 
would in most cases be simply this — " we worked 
hard." 

The idler is a useless and worthless being — a 
mere cypher in the world. He may be elegantly 
dressed, and what the world calls a gentleman, 



INDUSTRY. 



131 



but he is something less than a man. The very 
muscles and sinews of his body, so wonderfully 
fitted for labor, reproach and condemn him. They 
were created for a purpose that has never been 
realized. We may receive it as a true maxim, 
that he who does nothing, is good for nothing, 
and has no business to live. 

The idler is a fool. Solomon sends him to 
the ant, — one of the smallest of the insect tribe, 
— to learn wisdom. No man of sense would be 
willing to live like a mere vegetable, which has 
nothing to do but to grow, and draw its sustenance 
wherever it can find it. 

The life of the idler and the drone is usually 
a miserable one. " The way of the slothful man 
is as a hedge of thorns." Prov. 15 : 19. The 
blind, it is well known, are generally mopish and 
melancholy, until they are taught some useful 
employment. Toil drives out melancholy from 
the mind. Said Chrysostom, " There is nothing 
more unpleasant, more painful, more miserable, 
than a man that hath nothing to do." A gentle- 
man of wealth who had a fine country-seat, with 
elegant buildings, fruitful orchards, beautiful gar- 
dens, fish-ponds, &c, after devoting many years' 
labor to their improvement, moved away to 
another and far less desirable estate. " How 



132 THE boy's own guide. 



could you give up such a fine place ?" a friend 
inquired of him ; " you had every thing you 
could wish to make you happy — how could you 
bear to leave it ?" " Ah," was the reply, " that 
is just the reason why I left it. I had every 
thing I wanted — there was nothing more to do to 
it — and that is why I moved away. I can't be 
idle, I must have something to employ myself 
with, and now I am going to make a new para- 
dise." 

Idleness is the friend of disease and death. 
« The desire of the slothful killeth him." Pro v. 
21 : 25. " Pray of what did your brother die ?" 
said the Marquis Spinola to Sir Horace Vere. 
" He died, sir," was the reply, " of having nothing 
to do." " Alas ! sir," said Spinola, " that is 
enough to kill any general of us all." 

Four Russian sailors were once accidentally 
left on the coast of Spitsbergen, and three of 
them endured the terrible rigors of that cold cli- 
mate six years, when they were rescued by a 
vessel. One of their number, a very indolent 
man, who, from the beginning, had eschewed 
almost every kind of exertion, died from scurvy, 
while the other three found health in their daily 
active employments. And labor is as needful in 
warm as in cold climates. " The man who would 



INDUSTRY. 



133 



live in India," said a missionary to that country, 
" must have a plenty of work ; if not, he will 
yield to the enervating influence of the climate, 
and lounge away his days upon the sofa, and con- 
sequently be tossing all night on his sleepless 
couch, for want of the requisite fatigue. Then 
comes dejection of spirits, and utter prostration 
of the whole man." It is said that the inmates 
of prisons on the solitary system are preserved 
from madness or death only by having employ- 
ment furnished to them. 

People who live in idleness often become the 
victims of strange mental delusions, as well as 
bodily diseases. Some have imagined their bodies 
to be dead, and others have supposed themselves 
to be a bottle, a looking-glass, a lump of butter 
or a pound of candles, and no argument could 
convince them that such was not the case. These 
facts show us the necessity of activity and labor, 
if we would not have our minds stagnate, and our 
bodies become prematurely old and diseased. 

A life of indolence is the surest road a man 
can take to poverty and want. " An idle soul 
shall suffer hunger." Prov. 19 : 15. " By much 
slothfulness the building decayeth ; and through 
idleness of the hands the house droppeth through." 
Ec. 10 : 18. Let any one select from his circle of 



134 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



acquaintance all who are noted for their lazy, 
indolent habits, and he will find that he has 
collected together the most poverty-stricken class 
of men he could find. 

The lazy man is a wicked man. Indolence is 
a sin. " Abundance of idleness " was one of the 
rank offences which brought down the wrath of 
God upon Sodom. In the parable, the slothful 
servant was cast into outer darkness. Among 
the ancient Greeks, idleness was punished as a 
criminal offence. 

Like every other single sin, idleness not only 
shuts out good influences from the soul, but it 
lets in many other vices worse than itself. Says 
Dr. D wight, " Among all those who, within my 
knowledge, have appeared to become sincerely 
penitent and reformed, I recollect only a single 
lazy man ; and this man became industrious from 
the moment of his apparent, and, I doubt not, real 
conversion." The Turks have a proverb to the 
effect that " the devil tempts all other men, but 
idle men tempt the devil." Of five hundred and 
sixty-nine boys sentenced for various offences to 
the Massachusetts Reform School, four hundred 
and seventy-two, or more than five-sixths, were 
idle, or had no steady employment. It has been 
truly remarked, that ennui, (a French word, used 



INDUSTRY. 



135 



to express that peculiar feeling of weariness and 
melancholy which arises from having nothing to 
do,) " has made more gamblers than avarice, more 
drunkards than thirst, and more suicides than 
despair." Theft is another crime which springs 
in most cases directly from idleness. Few men 
take to stealing for a living, until they become 
too lazy to work. A convict in the New Hamp- 
shire State Prison, who was sentenced to that in- 
stitution for theft, chopped off one of his thumbs, 
and afterwards attempted to cut off his left arm, 
to escape the daily labor required of him at the 
turning lathe. I suppose the severest part of the 
punishment of such persons, is the labor they are 
obliged to perform — the very thing that would 
have kept them out of prison, had they not trained 
themselves to hate it. 

Let not the younger portion of my readers sup- 
pose that the duty inculcated in this chapter is 
one which it is not yet time for them to assume. 
A habit of industry should be formed early in 
childhood. There are always many ways in 
which a lad can render himself useful to his pa- 
rents, when not engaged at his school studies, and 
this too without infringing upon his sports. It is 
a beautiful sight to see the young thus striving to 
lighten the burdens of the elder members of the 



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household ; but this is not all — the influence of 
the habits thus acquired will be a perpetual 
blessing to them, when they are called upon to 
earn their own bread. They will go forth from 
the school and the parental roof, prepared for 
usefulness, and qualified to labor with cheerful- 
ness and zeal. It was thus with Henry Clay, a 
large portion of whose time was devoted to labor 
on his mother's farm, until he left home at the 
age of fourteen. It was his frequent visits to a 
neighboring mill with the family grist, at this pe- 
riod, that gained him in after life the title of 
" The Mill Boy of the Slashes." Dr. Adam 
Clarke, one of the most industrious men that ever 
lived, confesses that he owed much of his strength 
and fortitude to the industrious habits of his boy- 
hood. " There has not been a day," he observes, 
" since I was eight years of age, in which I have 
not done something to get my bread." Some 
boys, of twice that age, seem to think they are 
too young to work ; but if they are not careful, 
their lazy habits will become confirmed, before 
they are aware, and they will find themselves too 
old to learn to labor. 

Those boys who have no regular employment 
out of school, may turn even their amusements 
into an industrious and useful channel. Two 



INDUSTRY. 



137 



lads in a neighboring city, who were surrounded 
with all the amusements of their age, and with 
almost unlimited means for gratifying themselves, 
agreed to devote a portion of their leisure hours 
after school to the manufacture of a miniature 
steam engine. They persevered, and the result 
was, in a few months they not only mastered the 
principles of this machine, but completed a beau- 
tiful little engine, perfect in all its parts, all the 
work of their own hands. I would not recommend 
any lad to devote oil his leisure to employments 
of this kind. The young need the exercise of 
vigorous out-door sports or labor, to develope the 
body, and a portion of every week-day should be 
devoted to these objects. 

Those of my readers who have already left 
school, and engaged in some steady employment, 
may learn a valuable lesson from this chapter. 
The industrious habits formed during your ap- 
prenticeship will hereafter be to you a more 
profitable investment than gold. You may at first 
find your labors severe and irksome, but perse- 
vere, and they will soon grow lighter and pleas- 
anter. Do not listen to the suggestions of sloth 
and laziness, which plead for a little more sleep 
and a little more slumber, a little more idleness 
and a little less work. A prompt and decided 

12* 



138 THE boy's own guide. 



refusal of their calls will soon rid you of their 
importunities; but a dallying, hesitating, half- 
decided spirit will prolong the struggle between 
industry and idleness, if it does not actually 
decide it in favor of the latter. Determine to 
make yourself perfect in your business, and 
interest yourself in it, especially if it is a business 
to which you expect to devote your life. Thus 
doing, at the age of twenty-one you will find 
yourself master of your calling, and habits of 
industry will be established for life. 

A habit of early rising is very essential to 
industry. Indeed, one of the surest indications 
of a lazy nature is a fondness for morning slum- 
bers. Few men have ever distinguished them- 
selves in science, literature, or the arts, who were 
not accustomed to early rising. I need only 
mention the names of Homer, Virgil, Horace, 
Napoleon, Charles XII., Milton, Walter Scott, 
Paley, Franklin, Buffon, John Q. Adams, and 
William Cobbett, all of whom were early risers. 
The distinguished writer last named, who had 
almost a passion for early rising, used to encour- 
age his children to follow his example, by offering 
them little rewards. The boy who was first down 
stairs in the morning was called the lark for the 
day, and had, among other indulgences, the 



INDUSTRY. 



139 



privilege of making his mother's nosegay, and 
that of any lady visitor. Kev. Dr. Barnes, the 
well-known American author, wrote all of his 
sixteen volumes of Biblical " Notes," before nine 
o'clock in the morning, he having formed the 
habit of rising between four and five o'clock. 
Thus, by early rising, he has been permitted to 
send forth to the world, according to an estimate 
I have lately seen, about half a million volumes 
of commentary on the Bible, and has received 
for the same some twenty thousand dollars. John 
Wesley, so well known for his unprecedented 
labors in traveling, writing and preaching, rose 
constantly at four o'clock in the morning. 

The morning hours, which are so often wasted 
in bed, are really the most valuable portion of the 
day, as the body and mind are then best fitted for 
labor. It is surprising how much extra labor 
may be accomplished, by redeeming this part of 
the day from sleep. Dr. Bowditch, the distin- 
guished American mathematician, rose with the 
sun in the summer, and at four o'clock in the 
winter ; and he used to remark that to those 
morning hours he owed all his mathematics. Dr. 
Doddridge says the world is indebted for nearly 
all his works to his habits of early rising. Sir 
Thomas More, who always rose at four o'clock, 



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wrote one of his most famous works by thus steal- 
ing time from sleep. Sir Walter Scott, during 
the greater part of his life, rose by five o'clock, 
and his literary work was chiefly accomplished 
before breakfast. Said the distinguished Lord 
Chatham to his son, " I would have inscribed on 
the curtains of your bed, and the walls of your 
chamber, ' If you do not rise earty, you can 
make progress in nothing.' " This habit, it should 
be remembered, is also very necessary to health 
and long life. 

What are commonly termed " idle hours," 
should also be avoided, as stepping-stones to the 
habit against which I am warning you. I do not 
mean, by these, the hours which are devoted to 
recreation, nor those in which both the mind and 
body are unfitted for exertion, by reason of 
disease or weariness. I refer to those fragments 
of time which we all occasionally find on our 
hands, and which some employ in literally " doing 
nothing." A person of this stamp once called 
upon Rev. Dr. Benson, and informed him that he 
had " come to spend an idle hour with him." 
" Be assured," said that eminent man, " that Mr. 
Benson has no idle hours to spend. He never 
has any idle hours. From seventeen to eighteen 
hours he spends every day either in reading, 



INDUSTRY. 



141 



studying, writing, praying, or preaching." We 
sometimes hear people calculating how they may 
" kill time." It almost makes me shudder to 
hear this thoughtless expression, when I remem- 
ber that not a single moment of wasted time can 
ever be recalled or retrieved. A wise man of old, 
called the sacrifice of time the greatest of all 
sacrifices, and it is even so. Suwarrow wrote to 
Bellegarde, in Italy, " Hasten, your excellency — 
money is valuable ; man's life much more so ; but 
the most valuable of all is time." " Lost wealth," 
Mrs. Sigourney has truly remarked, " may be 
regained by a course of industry, the wreck of 
health repaired by temperance, forgotten knowl- 
edge restored by study, alienated friendship 
soothed into forgiveness — even forfeited reputation 
won back by penitence and virtue. But who ever 
again looked upon his vanished hours, recalled 
his slighted years and stamped them with wis- 
dom, or effaced from Heaven's record the fearful 
blot of a wasted life ? " 

I have spoken frequently of the duty of indus- 
try, in this chapter ; but, for my own part, I can 
truly say, that I esteem it a great privilege to be 
permitted to labor at a useful calling. I desire 
to work, as long as I remain in this world ; and 
I expect to labor still more diligently and sue- 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



cessfully in heaven, should it be my happy lot to 
find admittance to that blessed world. 



" Fulfilling there His high commands, 
Our cheerful feet shall move ; 
No sin shall clog our active zeal, 
Or cool our burning love." 



PERSEVERANCE. 



143 



CHAPTER XI. 

PERSEVERANCE. 

What life would be without exertion — The design of obsta- 
cles and difficulties — A man can do what he wills — Na- 
poleon and Suwarrow — Good luck — No such thing as 
chance — Genius and perseverance — Testimony and ex- 
amples — Demosthenes, Cicero, Xenocrates, and Washing- 
ton — Importance of perseverance in the school room — 
In business affairs — The iron book — Allston and the poor 
miniature — Perseverance in moral purposes — Under trials 
— Audubon's great loss — His noble perseverance — Over- 
coming ridicule. 

Can you imagine what would be the condition of 
your body, had it been delicately lapped in 
luxury and ease from your birth, and never 
required to make an effort, or put forth an exer- 
tion ? We will suppose that no muscle has ever 
been stretched, no sinew strained. The blood has 
never been sent glowing through your veins by 
healthy activity. Borne on downy beds — for you 
could not have learned to walk, this would require 
an effort, and a severe one too — you are carried 
out to take the air, and have never experienced 



144 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



the weariness of running or walking. Watching 
attendants anticipate every desire, and minister to 
every want, and your hands know not what is 
meant by toil. The result of all this is, you are 
a mere lump of helpless flesh, and are scarcely 
less weak and puny at the age of twelve or fifteen 
than you were in the first weeks of your existence. 
Who would think such a condition of the body 
desirable ? You see, from this, the importance of 
exercise, efforts, and struggles, to the body. These 
are the things that make our physical frames 
manly and strong. Without them, we should 
always be helpless children. 

But efforts and struggles are not more needful 
to the body, than they are to the mind and soul. 
Were the latter never called to grapple with 
difficulties, hi the discharge of their duties, there 
would be no mental or spiritual strength. It is 
for this reason that God has scattered obstacles 
and hinderances everywhere in our path. Y\ 7 e find 
that it is an easy matter to form good resolutions, 
and adopt wise aims and purposes ; but it is quite 
another thing to carry them into practice. It is 
easy to start upon a race, but to win the prize 
requires strong effort. We no sooner attempt a 
good work, than a host of discouragements arise, 
to drive us from it ; and if* we do not resolutely 



PERSEVERANCE. 



145 



determine to carry it out, we are soon persuaded 
to relinquish it. Thus many of our good resolu- 
tions turn out like the seed sown upon the rock, 
which sprang up quickly, and died quickly, too. 

Now the question arises, did God really put 
these obstacles in the path of duty, to hinder and 
discourage us ? We cannot admit the thought for 
a moment. So far from this, they were put there 
as helps and aids. Were the path of life smooth 
and unruffled, we should fall to sleep on the way, 
and never reach the end of our journey. These 
obstacles are designed to test and strengthen our 
virtues. They call out our powers of resistance, 
our patience, energy and perseverance ; and 
instead of yielding to discouragement, when we 
meet them, we ought rather, with the apostle, to 
" thank God, and take courage ; " thank him, that 
he has so perfectly adapted this world to our 
natures, and take courage in the thought that he 
has given us the means with which to overcome 
every obstacle in our way. 

Some of the deepest thinkers on the power of 
the will, have come to the conclusion that a man 
can do any thing he wills to do, if he sets reso- 
lutely about it, provided the task is within the 
compass of his powers. You are all familiar with 
a proverb which expresses the same idea — " Where 

13 



146 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



there is a will, there is a way." When a man 
really wills to do a thing, he will persevere till it 
is done, and no difficulty will drive him from it. 
If he fails, either the task was above his powers, 
or he did not resolutely determine to accomplish 
it. " Impossible," said Napoleon, " is a word 
only to be found in the dictionary of fools." The 
Russian general Suwarrow, who is said never to 
have lost a battle, also hated the word impossible. 
" Learn, do — try," he would say in a kind of 
passionate exhortation to his meanest soldiers. 
Here is the result of the wonderful success of 
these men. I will warrant that neither of them 
ever whined out when a boy, " I can't do this," 
or, " I can't learn that." Nor did Martin Luther, 
or John Knox, or Oliver Cromwell, or any other 
of the master spirits of the world. They were 
not the men to be discouraged at one failure, or 
to give up their designs after a single trial. They 
persevered till they conquered. 

" But," some reader may object, " did not 
these men, whom you cite as examples of perse- 
verance, owe their success to good luck, rather 
than to a virtue which is within the grasp of 
every mind ? " It is very common, when we see 
a man successful in his undertakings, to call him 
■ <£ lucky," " fortunate," &e. ; but probably in most 



PERSEVERANCE. 



147 



cases there is no luck or fortune about it, in the 
sense intended. Were we to investigate the sub- 
ject deeply, we should find that there is no such 
thing as luck, chance or accident in this world. 
God governs all events, and he has the power and 
the right to give to one and withhold from an- 
other, without regard to the regular laws of our 
being; but, notwithstanding this, most of the 
ordinary blessings of life flow through a common 
channel, from which all may draw if they will. 
Where is the ambitious lad who is willing to 
depend upon " good luck " for a perfect lesson, 
a school prize, or a good name, among his asso- 
ciates ? Who would think of calling him unlucky 
and unfortunate, if he missed his aim ? So it is 
with the great aims of our life. Circumstances 
beyond our control may sometimes assist or retard 
us, but after all, our destiny will depend very 
much upon our own exertions. It is a true 
proverb, that " God helps those who help them- 
selves." It is recorded of Hezekiah, (2 Chron. 
31 : 21), that whatsoever work he undertook, " he 
did it with all his heart, and prospered." Here 
persevering labor and prosperity are placed in the 
relation of cause and effect, by the inspired word. 
The same thing, in reverse, occurs in Gen. 49 : 3, 
where Jacob addresses Reuben in the well-known 



148 the boy's own guide. 



words, " Unstable as water, thou shall not excel." 
The ancient Carthagenians had so little faith in 
luck and chance, that if a general returned from 
a battle unsuccessful, he was usually punished 
with death, as if defeat were a crime. This, it is 
admitted, was a cruel custom, but if we reflect a 
moment, I think the principle upon which it was 
founded will not seem so unwise as it may appear 
at first sight. 

" But," suggests another, " if it was not luck, 
it was genius that insured the success of these 
eminent men." And what is genius ? It has been 
defined as " patience," " hard work," " intense 
purpose," &c. — the very qualities which consti- 
tute perseverance. Newton was a man of genius, 
but he used to declare, that whatever service he 
had done to the public was not owing to extraor- 
dinary sagacity, but solely to industry and patient 
thought. " I know no such thing as genius," 
said Hogarth ; " genius is nothing but labor and 
diligence." " The longer I live," says an emi- 
nent English writer, " the more I am certain 
that the great difference between men, between 
the feeble and the powerful, the great and the 
insignificant, is energy, invincible determination 
— a purpose once fixed, and then death or victory ! " 
The fall of Troy is an event celebrated by one of 



PERSEVERANCE. 



149 



the oldest and greatest of poets ; but this event 
was not brought about by the skill of Achilles, or 
the magnitude of the Grecian army, but by ten 
years of perseverance. You have all probably 
read of the perseverance of Demosthenes, the 
prince of orators ; how he miserably failed in his 
first efforts, and how, by speaking with pebbles in 
his mouth, by harangues at the sea-side, and by 
severe study in his under-ground cell, where for 
months he shut himself out of the world, he at 
length conquered the difficulties in his way. He 
was a man of genius, but what would his genius 
have accomplished without perseverance? So it 
was with the greatest of Roman orators, Cicero, 
who believed that nothing could be attained in his 
art without the most laborious application, and 
who felt compelled to devote to study that time 
which others gave to recreation and sleep. Plato 
had two pupils, one of whom he used to call a 
" dull ass that needed the spur," and the other " a 
mettlesome horse that needed the curb." After 
the death of the great philosopher, the choice of 
a successor lay between these two, and the honor 
was conferred upon Xenocrates, the man of slow 
parts, but indomitable perseverance, while the 
more gifted Aristotle was passed by. Indomit- 
able perseverance was one of the brightest traits 

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150 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



in the character of Washington. He had innu- 
merable and indescribable difficulties to struggle 
against as a military commander, and during the 
more critical years of the war, he gave himself no 
moments of relaxation, a smile seldom being seen 
upon his countenance. But throughout that 
dreadful struggle he was persevering and stead- 
fast. Had he wavered or faltered, so far as we 
can see, it would have been death to his cause, 
and the glory which now surrounds his name 
would never have been his. 

This is, to the youngest of my readers, a prac- 
tical subject. To the school-boy, perseverance is 
a talisman, with which he may open the gates of 
knowledge, and put to flight a host of difficulties. 
" Nothing is denied to well-directed diligence." 
Watch that lad, engaged upon a difficult sum. 
He begins full of zeal, and for a while proceeds 
very well. But soon he meets a difficulty, a 
scowl sits upon his face, his motions begin to 
betray impatience, and perhaps before he has 
devoted fifteen minutes to the sum, he becomes 
discouraged, rubs out his figures, and throws the 
book and slate aside. How can such a scholar 
expect to make progress ? Another boy has a 
peculiar dread of writing compositions ; and were 
we to see him engaged at it, we should not long 



PERSEVERANCE. 



151 



be at a loss for the reason. He does not permit 
his mind to think of the subject of his theme long 
enough to obtain two consecutive ideas, before he 
is discouraged, tears his paper to shreds, and starts 
again with a new subject, to go through the same 
farce. How many of my young readers would 
take the pains to write a composition in sixteen 
different forms ? And yet the sheet is still pre- 
served on which the great Italian poet Ariosto, 
wrote a passage of eight lines in sixteen different 
ways, and it was the last which was preferred. 
Who of you would persevere, even if you could 
write only four lines in a day, or one page in a 
week ? And yet so accomplished a writer as 
Goldsmith considered four lines as a good day's 
work, and Balzac, the great French writer, did not 
grudge bestowing a week upon a page. Let every 
youth, then, remember that perseverance is the 
secret of all success in study. 

Perseverance is equally important in the busi- 
ness affairs of life. The farmer, the mechanic, 
the lawyer, the merchant, the artist, are all 
dependent upon it for success. Many strokes, 
though with a little axe, bring down the stateliest 
oak. A book was recently exhibited in England, 
the leaves of which were of iron, but rolled so 
fine that they did not exceed ordinary paper in 



152 



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thickness — a beautiful example of what patience 
and perseverance may accomplish. A gentleman 
once showed a miniature to Allston, the celebrated 
American painter, and begged to know his sincere 
opinion upon its merits, as the young man who 
drew it had some thoughts of becoming a painter 
by profession. The great artist candidly told the 
gentleman, he feared the lad would never do any 
thing as a painter, and advised his following some 
more congenial pursuit. My readers may form 
an idea of Allston's perseverance in his profession, 
when I tell them that he was the painter of this 
very miniature, it being one of his own early 
efforts, though he had forgotten it. 

We ought also to persevere in our moral aims 
and purposes. If we have fallen into besetting 
sins or evil habits, great perseverance will be 
necessary to break off from them. One or two 
efforts will not answer, there must be a patient, 
steady, and long-continued struggle. We must 
likewise persevere in our own efforts to do good. 
Wilberforce, Howard, Oberlin, John Pounds, 
Harlan Page, and Thomas Cranfield, were all 
remarkable for the perseverance with which they 
engaged in their chosen labors of mercy. It is 
only by a " patient continuance in well-doing " 



PERSEVERANCE. 



153 



that we can accomplish any great and good work 
in this world. 

W e shall all need this habit of perseverance, 
when overtaken with evils and misfortunes. Few, 
who do not die in youth, escape these common 
trials of life ; but the effects of the same troubles, 
upon different persons, are often as unlike as pos- 
sible. One bears up nobly when the waters of 
sorrow sweep away his hopes, remembering that 
" the darkest day will pass away." Another 
yields himself up to despair, and makes no effort 
to stem the current. The one struggles till relief 
comes — the other sinks hopelessly beneath the 
wave of adversity. How admirably did the virtue 
of perseverance shine in the character of the great 
and gifted Audubon, when he discovered that a 
pair of rats had taken possession of his box of 
drawings — the result of years of hardship and 
toil in the wilderness of America — and had reared 
a young family among the gnawed bits of paper, 
which but a month before represented nearly a 
thousand inhabitants of the air ! " The burning 
heat which instantly rushed through my veins," he 
says, with beautiful simplicity, " was too great to 
be endured, without affecting the whole nervous 
system. I slept not for several nights, and my 
days were as davs of oblivion, — until the animal 



154 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



powers being called into action, through the 
strength of my constitution, I took up my gun, 
my note book, and my pencils, and went forth to 
the woods as gaily as if nothing had happened. I 
felt pleased that I might now make better draw- 
ings than before, and ere a period not exceeding 
three years had elapsed, I had my portfolio filled 
again." 

We shall need this habit, when the ridicule and 
opposition of the world set themselves against us. 
None of us are secure against these attacks, 
especially if we undertake to act conscientiously 
at all times, or if we venture out of the beaten 
track of the world. How heroic was the perse- 
verance of Paul, as he pressed forward in his 
ministry through stripes, imprisonment and death, 
never turning aside through fear of man, or swerv- 
ing one iota from his chosen course ! Read the 
histories of reformers, inventors, and discoverers, 
of all ages, and you will find that with scarcely 
an exception the world set up against them its 
barricades of prejudice, ridicule and opposition, 
through which they had to fight their way with 
desperate perseverance. " He that wavereth," 
says James, " is like a wave of the sea, driven 
with the wind and tossed." James 1 : 6. But 
the man who pursues " the even tenor of his 



PERSEVERANCE. 



155 



way," who turns aside neither for difficulties nor 
for ridicule, and who is not disheartened even by 
calamities — he is like the rock which lifts its head 
serenely above the troubled waters, defying the 
winds and the waves, and outriding the tempests 
which vainly beat around it. You who would 
form such a character, have but to begin now, in 
your youth, to discharge with diligence and perse- 
verance the various little duties which make up 
your daily life, and the habit will soon be formed. 



156 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 

Washington's maxim — The design of conscience — It may be 
dethroned or enthroned — A father's advice to his son — 
Better be right than be President — A man without a con- 
science — The boy-robber and his sentence — The boy in 
prison — His dream of home — A poetical description — 
Conscience cannot be stifled forever. 

It is said that when Washington was a boy, he 
adopted the following maxim, among others, for 
the guidance of his daily conduct : — " Labor to 
keep alive in your breast that little spark of ce- 
lestial fire, conscience." We all know how well 
he obeyed that maxim. He did keep alive that 
" little spark," until it shed a light around his 
path which attracted the attention of a world. 
He was rigidly conscientious in all his public and 
private acts, and I suppose the man never lived 
who would have dared to approach him with a 
corrupt or unprincipled proposition. The basest 
of villains would have quailed before the frown of 
that serene and unsullied brow. 



CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 



157 



This fine trait in the character of Washington 
is worthy of universal imitation. Reader, you 
have a conscience. It was not designed to be 
your tormentor, nor to stand in the way of your 
happiness, nor to be seared and hardened by any 
process to which you can subject it. It was 
given you to be your guide, monitor, or governing 
principle. It is " the shadow of God in the soul," 
designed to remind you of duty, restrain you from 
sin, and help you on in the right course. You 
are not compelled to set it up as the reigning 
power in your heart — if you choose, you can en- 
throne ambition, avarice, or any other lust in its 
place, and make either of these your king. But 
if conscience rules, it will only be with your free 
consent and choice. Each of my readers, then, 
must decide this matter for himself. He must 
say whether conscience shall govern his conduct, 
or caprice, interest, and the natural passions of 
the heart. As to duty, in the case, there can be 
no question. We have no right, though we have 
the power, to set conscience at naught ; and we do 
violence and injury to ourselves, every time we 
silence its warning voice, or neglect its appeals. 

If, then, you would be good, useful and happy, 
be conscientious. Never do violence to the 
faithful monitor within your breast. Do your 

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158 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



duty — do right. Do not be ashamed of a tender 
conscience. The thoughtless and unprincipled 
may sometimes laugh at you, and call you over- 
scrupulous and Puritanic, but never mind their 
jeers. They will sooner or later be obliged to 
confess the wisdom of your choice. 

An eminent German writer, in giving some 
farewell advice to his son, said, " Search no one 
so closely as thyself. Within us dwells the judge 
who never deceives, and whose voice is more to 
us than the applause of the world, and more than 
all the wisdom of the Egyptians and Greeks. 
Resolve, my son, to do nothing to which this 
voice is opposed. When you think and project, 
strike on your forehead and ask for his counsel. 
He speaks at first low, and lisps as an innocent 
child ; but if you honor his innocence, he gradu- 
ally loosens his tongue and speaks more distinct- 
ly." These are indeed words of wisdom. What 
homage did Henry Clay pay to this same wise 
and undeceiving judge, when he uttered those 
memorable words, " I had rather be right than be 
President!" Noble language ! would that it were 
inscribed on the heart of every statesman, and of 
every youth. 

If conscience, enlightened by the Word of God, 
is your guide, you can never go far astray. On 



CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 



159 



the other hand, if you cut yourself loose from the 
restraints of conscience, and stifle its warning 
voice, who can tell what the end of it will be ? I 
know of no sadder sight than a man destitute of 
all moral principle, and in whose soul conscience 
seems to have died out. Guilt, and shame, and 
suffering, are melancholy to behold, but they are 
not so sad as that reckless, hardened indifference 
and heartlessness which sometimes accompany 
them. Scores of years are not necessary to attain 
to this unhappy state — it is sometimes reached by 
mere boys. In Boston, a short time since, a 
smart-looking, intelligent and well-dressed Amer- 
ican boy of sixteen grabbed a valuable package of 
money from the hands of a smaller lad, who was 
just entering the bank-building to deposit it. He 
was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 
eight years in the State Prison. He received his 
sentence with levity, thanking the court in an im- 
pudent manner ; and through the trial, his bearing 
was that of an utterly hardened young villain. 
So young, so fallen ! who can regard such a scene 
without the deepest sorrow ? And yet it is only 
an example of what even a boy may in a short 
time become, by hardening his conscience. 

Shall we follow this youth to his dreary prison 
home, and learn the value of Washington's golden 



160 the boy's own guide. 



maxim ? See him exchange his neat and becom- 
ing dress for the coarse, parti-colored uniform of 
the felon. See him divest himself of all rights, 
all manliness, all enjoyment, all social inter- 
course, all freedom, all hope, and submitting in 
silence to the severe discipline of the prison. See 
him compelled to work through the day, with the 
eye of the task-master ever upon him, the armed 
sentry constantly by his side, and huge walls all 
around him. See him shut up at night in his lit- 
tle tomb-like cell, with no bright lights, no cheer- 
ful fire, no pleasant family group, no choice book, 
to beguile the long evening, or to make him for- 
get the howling storm without. See his sad 
young face light up with a smile, as he is borne 
back, in his dreams, to the days of his innocence, 
and again fancies himself in the home of his 
childhood, surrounded by a mother's tender love, 
and a father's constant care ; and witness the still 
deeper sadness that comes over his face, as he 
awakes, and finds himself a felon, in the firm 
grasp of the law, and shut out from almost every 
thins; that makes life desirable. Thus the seasons 
and the years roll away, but they bring no change, 
no joy, no hope to the condemned. 

The character I have just sketched — the prison- 
boy — is not a rare one. Alas that it must be 



CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 



161 



said ! but there are few large jails which do not 
contain such inmates. Mrs. Sigourney has writ- 
ten a beautiful and affecting description of one of 
these youthful criminals, which is worthy of being 
committed to memory by every lad who sees it. 
It is as follows : — ■ 

" I saw him laboring at the heavy forge, 
With slender hands. He turned away his face, 
And o'er his forehead fell the matted hair, 
While deep and strong his hurried breathing came: 
A boy of thirteen summers. 

It was sad 

To see him there, shut from all sights and sounds 
Of joyous Spring, that tinted every nook, 
And made the branches gush with minstrelsy. 
Fast by those prison-walls, the apple-trees 
Were prodigal of blossoms — but their balm 
Eeached not to him. Around their turf- wrapped feet 
Sprang the blue violets that he used to pluck 
For his younger sister. Now the glorious earth 
And sunny skies were as a sealed book, 
He might not look upon. 

'Twas sad to think 
That vice had brought him there, and sadder still 
To see him in the school of evil, linked 
With hoar and hardened felons, learning still 
Their hard and bitter lessons, — his fresh soul 
Bathed in the baleful atmosphere, that blights 
Each timid, tear-sown plant of penitence. 
14* 



162 



TUE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



Where is the mother who did nurture him ? 
Deeming, as on her arm his head was laid, 
Earth held no fairer babe, — and kneeling down 
To watch his quickened breath when sickness came, 
And pray with bursting sobs, that stifled speech, 
That God would spare her child. 

Where is she now ? 
'Tis better she were in her quiet grave, 
Than see him thus. 

That night methought the boy, 
The prisoner boy, stood by my couch, in dreams, 
With downcast eye, — and unto God I said : 
' O, move our hearts, we, who are sinners all 
With yearning pity toward those stricken ones 
Who early falter in the race of life, 
Snared by the serpent, that through His dear love, 
Who doth not scorn us in our low estate, 
But gives us hope of pardon, we may seek 
And save the lost, and set the erring feet 
Safe on the Eternal Rock, to swerve no more.' " 

It is scarcely necessary to acid, that though con- 
science may be stifled or hardened for a time, it 
will not remain seared forever. It may seem 
dead, but there will come a resurrection, when it 
will arise to life with a fearful power. Those who 
will not take it as a guide, must finally receive 
it as a tormentor. Now it comes in mercy, to di- 
rect and expostulate ; then it will be clothed in 



CONSCIENTIOUSNESS. 



163 



terror, and its office will be to upbraid and 
scourge. Reader, in which capacity shall it wait 
upon you ? Will you, like Washington, cherish 
the spark of celestial fire, or will you extinguish 
it, and leave yourself in darkness ? 



164 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FIDELITY TO TRUSTS. 

Military ideas of duty— Fidelity of Napoleon's soldiers— The 
faithful Russian sentinels — Examples for the young — 
Abuse of parental confidence — Fidelity to employers — 
Advice to boys at work — The last acts of two dying men 
— The meanness of violating a trust — Danger of acquiring 
a bad name — The cat — Arnold's treachery— The reward 
of fidelity — The Mahratta prince and his servant — 
Conclusion. 

It is related of the Duke of Wellington, that he 
never wrote a military dispatch in which the word 
duty did not occur. The brave Russian general 
Suwarrow, who was equally remarkable for his 
reverence for duty, used to say, " A soldier can 
never do more than his duty, do what he may." 
This sentiment is not an uncommon one among 
soldiers, and it is sometimes carried out into he- 
roic deeds. " At Areola," says Napoleon, " Col. 
Muiron threw himself before me, covered my body 
with his own, and received the blow which was 
intended for me. He fell at my feet, and his 
blood spouted up in my face." Upon another oc- 



FIDELITY TO TRUSTS. 



165 



casion, a shell having fallen near Napoleon, two 
grenadiers rushed towards him, encircled him in 
their arms, and completely shielded every part of 
his body with their own. The shell exploded, 
wounding one of the men severely, but their idol 
leader escaped with a few slight bruises. "In all 
my misfortunes," this same leader confesses, 
" never has the soldier been wanting in fidelity — 
never has man been served more faithfully by his 
troops." A remarkable instance of military fidel- 
ity occurred at the burning of the great winter 
palace at St. Petersburg, in 1837. The emperor 
was absent when the fire commenced, but on hast- 
ening to the scene of conflagration, he found two 
sentinels pacing their rounds beneath the burning 
walls, musket on shoulder, and resigned to their 
fate. In the general confusion, those whose duty 
it was had forgotten to relieve them, and the dis- 
cipline of the army did not allow them to stir 
from their posts, though the heat was rapidly con- 
suming them. > 

I would not awaken in any of my readers a 
thirst for military glory, but I would have them 
all copy the reverence for duty, the heroic fideli- 
ty, and the faithfulness to trusts, exhibited by the 
men above alluded to. These are virtues which 
should not be confined to the soldier. They are 



106 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



just as noble and heroic in the humble school-boy 
and apprentice, as in the imperial guard, or the 
palace sentinel. You have duties to perform ; 
trusts are committed to jour hands. Are you 
faithful ? Can your parents, teachers, guardians 
or masters depend upon you, or must they watch 
you continually, for fear you will prove unfaith- 
ful ? Believe me, your future history will depend 
greatly upon the answers you are enabled to give 
these questions. 

The duty I am now endeavoring to enforce, 
should be discharged, first of all, to your parents. 
It is a sad sign, when a boy abuses the confi- 
dence his parents repose in him. The lad who 
" plays truant," without the knowledge of his pa- 
rents, does this. While they suppose him to be 
at school, acquiring knowledge, he is roaming 
about in idleness, taking his first lessons in 
vice. A boy, whose parents found it necessary to 
leave their home for a few hours, was directed to 
remain in the house during their absence, and 
take charge of a younger brother. But as soon 
as he was sure his parents were out of sight, he 
locked up his little brother, and went off to play. 
Those parents may never know how basely their 
son abused their confidence, but it would not be 
strange if the faithless boy remembered the act 



FIDELITY TO TRUSTS. 167 



with sorrow to his dying day. I cannot mention 
all the various ways in which the young may 
prove unfaithful to the trusts committed to them 
by their parents, but enough has been said to 
make the subject plain to every reader. 

Fidelity is also due to employers. Nearly 
every youth whom I address, will, some time or 
other, enter into the service of others, if he has 
not already done so ; and I deem it highly im- 
portant to impress upon every mind the duty of 
fidelity, in this relation. Let no trust be abused 
in your hands, no matter how small. J oseph was 
not less faithful as a servant and jailer, than as 
the prime minister of Egypt. Be as faithful to 
your master, however obscure and humble he may 
be, as you would if you were in the service of a 
powerful company, or of the nation itself, and had 
untold wealth committed to your charge. Take an 
interest in his business, and do for him as you 
would do for yourself. Try to make yourself indis- 
pensable to him. Let his presence or absence 
make no difference in the discharge of your duty. 
Do not idle away your time when he is absent, 
nor leave your work an hour earlier than usual at 
night, when you think he will not discover it. 
Never " take advantage " of him in any way, even 
in the slightest thing, no matter how strong the 

\ 



168 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



temptation. He who is unfaithful in small things, 
will be unfaithful in great, if he has a chance. 

A man in Pennsylvania was once crossing a 
river which was frozen over, when he broke 
through the ice, and, after a short struggle, sunk 
to rise no more. As he was about to sink for the 
last time, he was observed to take some keys from 
his pocket and throw them safely upon the ice. 
They proved to be his employer's keys ; and on 
inquiry, it was found that the man had always 
been remarkable for his faithfulness and trust- 
worthiness. How beautiful and touching was his 
last act ! How deep in his heart must have been 
the principle of fidelity, to manifest itself in so 
thoughtful an act, in the last moment of life ! 
Here was true fidelity in an humble sphere. 
Would you behold the same virtue in one of 
exalted position ? Go to the death-bed of Presi- 
dent Harrison, and hear him say, as his eyes are 
closing in death, " I wish you to understand the 
true principles of government ; I wish them carried 
out ; I ask nothing more." Here was a fidelity to 
duty which wholly lost sight of itself, in its anxiety 
to fulfill the trusts committed to it. Is there 
nothing worthy of imitation, in such examples as 
these ? 

We cannot be unfaithful to a trust, without 



FIDELITY TO TRUSTS. 169 



lowering ourselves in the estimation both of others 
and of our own hearts. Unfaithfulness is a com- 
bination of vices, prominent among which are 
falsehood, dishonesty, and disobedience. And 
then think how mean it is to cheat and deceive 
those who have trusted to our honor, and confided 
in our faithfulness. It is rendering evil for good 
— it is like robbing a benefactor. Do you think 
that you could stoop to such an act? Probably 
not, except thoughtlessly ; but remember that " I 
didn't think " is in no case a good excuse. 

When the habit of unfaithfulness is once fully 
acquired, it is very difficult to break away from 
it ; and even if the man succeeds after a while in 
reforming, the base name he has earned will cling 
to him long after he has ceased to do evil. Many 
will be suspicious of him as long as he lives, no 
matter how great his repentance. You know that 
the cat tribe is naturally cunning and treacherous. 
Some people suppose these traits can never be so 
entirely extirpated from the domestic cat, by kind 
treatment and liberal feeding, that they will not 
sometimes abuse the confidence of their benefac- 
tors, when they can do so without danger of 
detection. Whether this is so or not, it shows 
how hard it is to get rid of a bad name. The 
treachery of this animal bears a strong resemblance 

15 



170 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



to the human vice I am endeavoring to expose. 
What is treachery but a violation of faith and con- 
fidence ? What was it that stamped the name of 
Benedict Arnold with undying infamy, but a 
betrayal of a solemn trust? Doubtless he com- 
menced his career with small acts of unfaithful- 
ness, and these gradually led the way to his 
crowning deed of treachery and guilt. Let the 
young take warning from his history. 

Fidelity is generally rewarded in the long run. 
You may sometimes imagine your faithfulness in 
the discharge of your daily duties is not appre- 
ciated, but do not be discouraged. Perhaps you 
will receive tokens to the contrary, when least 
expected. Few men are long insensible or indif- 
ferent to the faithful services of those whom they 
employ. Merit will not always remain concealed, 
or go unrewarded. A Mahratta prince once dis- 
covered one of his servants asleep, with his mas- 
ter's slippers clasped so tightly to his breast that 
he could not disengage them. The prince con- 
cluded that a person who was so zealously careful 
of a trifle, would not prove unfaithful if entrusted 
with a thing of more importance, and at once 
appointed the servant a member of his body- 
guard. The result proved that he was not mis- 
taken. The young man established a reputation 



FIDELITY TO TRUSTS. 171 



for fidelity, and rose in office step by step, until 
his fame spread through all India. 

In conclusion, let me again urge every lad who 
reads these pages to aim at the strictest fidelity. 
Try earnestly to discharge every duty ; be true to 
every trust ; labor for your employers as though 
it were for yourself ; be as faithful in their ab- 
sence as when they are present. And when, in 
the evening of life, you look back upon the past, 
may you be able to say, in the dying words of 
President Taylor, " I have endeavored to do my 
duty." 



172 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XIY. 

ORDER AND SYSTEM. 

Order heaven's first law — Rules and regulations of large 
establishments — Definition of order — Description of an 
orderly boy — An opposite picture — Little can be accom- 
plished without system — The letter carrier — Want of sys- 
tem leads to neglect of duty — To vexation — King Alfred's 
example — Sir Edward Coke and Sir William Jones- 
Punctuality — Its importance — The Bank of England 
clerks — The mechanic and apprentice— Washington — Life 
sometimes depends upon punctuality. 

Habits of order and system are of great import- 
ance to success in life. " Order," it is often and 
truly said, " is heaven's first law." There is no 
disorder in heaven ; nor is there in the material 
universe, except so far as sin has introduced it. 
So important are these habits considered, that in 
many establishments, where large numbers of men 
are employed, it is not uncommon to find printed 
maxims posted up in every room, like the follow- 
ing, which form part of the printed rules and reg- 
ulations of an extensive farm in New York : 



ORDER AND SYSTEM. 



173 



" 1. Perform every operation in the proper season. 

2. Perform every operation in the best manner. 

3. Complete every part of an operation as you proceed. 

4. Finish one job before you begin another. 

5. Secure your work and tools in an orderly manner. 

6. Clean every tool when you leave off work. 

7. Keturn every tool and implement to its place at night." 

By order, method, or system, is meant, a suit- 
able and convenient arrangement of things ; a 
place for every thing, and every thing in its place ; 
a time for every thing, and every thing in its time. 
It is the opposite of disorder, confusion, inatten- 
tion, carelessness, negligence, and slovenliness. 
The orderly boy does not throw down his books or 
his playthings in the spot where he happens to use 
them last, and then forget where they are. He 
has a place for every article, and he always knows 
where to find what he wants. If he wants his 
knife, or ball, or book, he does not have to hunt 
for it, nor stop to think when or where he used it 
last. He is equally careful of his clothing, and 
of every thing that is entrusted to him ; and the 
consequence is that he seldom loses a thing, but 
preserves his property in good order much longer 
than the heedless boy who has no place for any 
thing. He also observes order in the study of his 
lessons. He has a set time to devote to this duty, 

y 15* 



174 THE boy's own guide. 



and he knows when it is done. If he has work to 
do, he also has a particular time for that. He 
knows it is much better to do a thing promptly, 
and have it over with, than to put it off and dread 
it, hour after hour. 

On the other hand, the boy who has no method 
or system in his affairs, grows every day more 
careless, slovenly, forgetful, dilatory, and negli- 
gent. Every thing is tumbled into his school- 
desk, or his tool-chest, or about his work-bench, 
as though there were no such thing as order in the 
universe. If he enters the shop or house of 
another, every article he touches is misplaced. He 
not only loses a great many misplaced things, but 
he also loses a great deal of time, in hunting for 
them. You can never depend upon his doing a 
thing at the proper time. He may do it, and he 
may not — it is a mere matter of uncertainty. To- 
day he postpones every duty which he can manage 
to put off ; tomorrow perhaps he will try to do 
half a dozen things at the same time, and so 
accomplish nothing. In fine, he may mean well, 
and promise well, and aim well ; but unless he 
breaks up that habit of slovenly disorder, he will 
never be any thing but a useless and shiftless 
man. 

When an army in battle is thrown into disorder, 



ORDER AND SYSTEM. 



175 



defeat is almost certain. So there must be system, 
regularity and promptness in all our movements, 
or we shall accomplish but little. " God is not 
the author of confusion." 1 Cor. 14 : 33. He 
requires us to do our several duties, " decently 
and in order," and He withholds his blessings 
from those who violate this law. 

Rev. James Hamilton, of London, in an excel- 
lent work entitled " Life in Earnest," has illus- 
trated very clearly the importance of method in 
our daily affairs, in the following manner : "A 
man has got twenty or thirty letters and packets 
to carry to their several destinations ; but instead 
of arranging them beforehand, and putting all 
addressed to the same locality in a separate parcel, 
he crams the whole into his promiscuous bag, and 
trudges off to the west, for he knows he has got a 
letter directed thither ; that letter he delivers, 
and hies away to the east, when lo ! the same 
handful which brings out the invoice for Mer- 
chants' Row contains a brief for the Court House, 
and a petition, which should have been left, had 
he noticed it earlier, at the Capitol. Accordingly 
he retraces his steps and repairs the omission, and 
then performs a transit from the north to the 
south ; till in two days he overtakes the work of 
one, and travels fifty miles to accomplish as much 



176 THE boy's own guide. 



as a man of method would have managed in 
fifteen." 

This lack of system, besides putting us to much 
useless trouble, leads us to neglect many duties. 
The duty we postpone to-day, is forgotten tomorrow, 
and perhaps the next day it is too late to attend 
to it. An eminent prime minister of Holland 
was once asked how he managed to accomplish so 
much labor, and still have leisure for relaxation. 
He replied, " I do every thing at the time." A 
want of system also occasions much hurry, impa- 
tience, and ill-nature. " Those who do not know 
where to find their books, tools, or articles of 
clothing, when they want them, or who, from 
neglect of system, have two or three duties press- 
ing upon them which need to be done at once, are 
almost always thrown into a state of vexation, if 
not of violent anger." 

Alfred, one of the earliest and best of the 
kings of England, set his people an example of 
system in the disposal of his time, and by means 
of this habit, was enabled to confer many and great 
favors upon them, in the course of his happy reign. 
He divided his time into three parts, of eight 
hours each, devoting the first, to study and prayer ; 
the second, to business ; and the last, to refresh- 
ment and sleep. The following lines were found 



ORDER AND SYSTEM. 177 



among the papers of Sir William Jones, a cele- 
brated scholar and lawyer, who, by a systematic 
disposal of his time, made extraordinary attain- 1 
ments in various departments of knowledge : 

" Sir Edward Coke : 

Six hours in sleep, in law's grave study six, 
Four spend in prayer — the rest on nature fix. 

RATHER : 

Seven hours to law, to soothing slumber seven, 
Ten to the world allot, and all to heaven." 

Punctuality has been incidentally alluded to, 
in this chapter, as connected with habits of order, 
but the subject is of so much importance as to 
demand a more special notice. There are some 
men who are always a little behind the time, in 
every thing they undertake. In boyhood they are 
generally slow in doing an errand, tardy at school, 
and dilatory in every thing they do. As they 
grow up to manhood, the habit grows with them, 
and they are seldom prompt at an engagement, or 
fulfill their word at the appointed time. The 
consequence is, they are often suspected of a 
wrong intention, when they really mean to do 
right, and they soon lose the confidence of all 



178 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



around them. Many a man has been made a 
bankrupt by this negligent habit, and all good 
business men know the importance of guarding 
against it, even as a matter of mercantile policy. 
The clerks of the Bank of England, for instance, 
enter at the age of seventeen, at a salary of one 
hundred and fifty dollars a year, which is increased 
to the extent of one hundred dollars more, to such 
as are punctual every morning. " You are rather 
late this morning, William," said a mechanic to a 
laggard apprentice who came at a late hour. " Yes, 
sir, but ' better late than never ' is an old saying," 
replied William. " Better never late" said the 
master, " is an axiom of far more worth, though it 
may not be so old." 

Washington was a rare example of punctuality. 
He was exactly punctual even in the smallest 
thing, an4 made all around him so. In this re- 
spect, as in almost every other, his example is 
worthy of being copied by the young. I will only 
add, that life itself sometimes depends on the 
formation of punctual habits. I can call to mind 
two men, — a clergyman and a merchant, — who 
were subject to heart disease, and who lost their 
lives in consequence of hurrying to the cars. 



CAREFULNESS. 



179 



CHAPTER XV. 

CAREFULNESS. 

Carefulness more necessary now than formerly — Franklin's 
saying— Heedlessness of youth— Connection between u bad 
luck" and carelessness— Carefulness a moral duty— In- 
nocent sufferers from others' carelessness — Illustrations — 
God holds us responsible for our carelessness — The rules 
of the Springfield Armory — Carelessness and crime — The 
boys and their drowned playmate— Accidents — Distinc- 
tion between real accidents, and the effect of heedless- 
ness — The railroad disaster — The falling building — Duty 
of providing against accidents — Advantages of careful 
habits in youth. 

It sometimes seems to me, that we who live in 
these latter days, have much greater need of care- 
fulness than our ancestors had a hundred years 
ago. The general use of steam as a motive power, 
and the extensive introduction of machinery, requir- 
ing the utmost care in its management to insure 
safety, render this habit one of vast importance. 
A careless man has more and greater opportuni- 
ties of doing mischief, now, than he had a century 
ago. The man who has charge of a steam boiler, 



180 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



or a railroad switch, may, by five minutes of in- 
attention and heedlessness, send a hundred souls 
to their final account. It was a saying of Frank- 
lin, that " a want of care does more damage than 
a want of knowledge." Had he lived in our day, 
when it is no uncommon thing for the careless- 
ness of a single steamboat captain or engineer to 
consign from fifty to one or two hundred passen- 
gers to a terrible death by fire or water, he would 
doubtless have expressed his opinion of heedless- 
ness in much stronger language. The subject is 
one of great moment to us all, and I deem it the 
more important to speak of it here, inasmuch as 
carefulness is not apt to be a boyish virtue. In- 
deed, the heedlessness of youth is proverbial ; 
and yet it is highly important that habits of care- 
fulness be formed in early life. 

TVlien you go out into the world to wrestle with 
it for a living, as most of us are sooner or later 
obliged to, you will find a class of men who are 
always deploring their " bad luck." A. complains 
that he is seldom in good health ; B. is the sub- 
ject of frequent causal ties, by which his limbs 
are broken and his flesh bruised ; C. was never 
successful in any business enterprise ; D. cannot 
obtain employment half the time. All their 
troubles are attributed to their bad luck ; and 



CAREFULNESS. 



181 



yet, if you will look into their histories, you will 
probably find in four cases out of five, that this 
" bad luck " of which they complain so bitterly is 
only another name for carelessness. A. is regard- 
less of the laws of health, and has ruined his con- 
stitution ; B. is always needlessly getting into 
danger ; C. never gave sufficient care and atten- 
tion to his business to succeed in it ; and D. is 
such a careless workman, that nobody will employ 
him ; and thus we might go on through the list of 
" unlucky men." It is true, God gives and with- 
holds success ; but He has ordained that we shall 
use the proper means to secure any end, and if we 
neglect them, we must not expect His blessing on 
our labors. He has affixed a penalty to careless- 
ness, viz., pain, disappointment and misfortune. He 
has done this to make us careful. There can be 
no doubt, then, that carefulness is a moral duty, 
as well as a matter of expediency. 

If habits of carelessness affected only those who 
are guilty of them, the evil would be comparative- 
ly small ; but this is not the case, the innocent 
often being sufferers. A boy took up a gun, which 
he supposed to be unloaded, and pointing it to his 
little sister, pulled the trigger. The gun proved 
to be loaded, and the child fell dead at his feet. 
An apothecary was requested to put up a certain 

16 



182 THE boy's own guide. 



medicine for a sick man. Not noticing what he 
did, he took down the wrong bottle, and sent poi- 
son instead of the medicine ordered, which the 
man took, and died. A man who had charge of a 
steam engine, carelessly suffered the water in the 
boiler to get too low. The result was a terrific 
explosion, which destroyed the building in which 
it took place, burying in the ruins a large number 
of workmen. In all these instances, innocent per- 
sons suffered death from the gross carelessness of 
others. And need I say that it is no slight thing 
to take the life of another, even in carelessness ? 

But we must not suppose that the plea of care- 
lessness will excuse us for any evil that we may 
do. I have no doubt that God holds us responsi- 
ble for every evil result of our heedlessness. " It 
was an accident," or " I didn't think," will not be 
accepted as excuses, at His bar of judgment. This 
principle of responsibility for carelessness is, in- 
deed, acted upon to some extent, even among men. 
It is said that in the Springfield Armory, where a 
large portion of the arms for the United States 
are manufactured, each workman is required to 
stamp his own mark indelibly upon every piece 
of work that passes through his hands. The va- 
rious parts thus marked are subject to very close 
inspection* and to very rigid tests, and whenever 



CAREFULNESS. 



183 



any failure occurs, the person who is found to be 
responsible loses not only his own pay for the 
work which he performed upon the piece in ques- 
tion, but the whole value of the piece at the time 
the defect is discovered. 

When carelessness results in the death or seri- 
ous injury of others, the offender is regarded as a 
criminal by law, though he had no malicious de- 
signs. The driver of a carriage, or a railroad of- 
ficer, or sea captain, or engineer, or apothecary, 
who carelessly destroys another's life, is liable to 
answer to the charge of manslaughter. In Eng- 
land, a short time since, two boys took a third, 
who did not know how to swim, into deep wa- 
ter, where he slipped from their grasp and was 
drowned. The boys were arrested and held to 
answer to a charge of manslaughter. How their 
trial terminated, I have never learned ; but if it 
was clearly proved that their carelessness occa- 
sioned the death of their comrade, I think they 
deserved some measure of punishment, even be- 
yond that which their own consciences must have 
inflicted. The man who commits a crime while 
drunk, is not excused, though he knew not what 
he did ; neither should he be who commits a crime 
carelessly. 

" But," it may be said, " accidents will happen, 



184 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



and it is not in the power of human wisdom to 
prevent them." This is true, but what men call 
" accidents," are in nine cases out of ten, some- 
thing very different. An event which takes place 
without our foresight or expectation, because pro- 
ceeding from an unknown cause, or because it is 
an unusual effect of some known cause, is an ac- 
cident. It is impossible for man to guard against 
such an event. But when a casualty is the natur- 
al result of a known cause, it might have been 
foreseen, and it is not therefore an accident, strict- 
ly speaking, but the effect of inattention or care- 
lessness. A moment's reflection will, I think, 
make this distinction plain to my readers. What 
the world commonly calls accidents, are in most 
cases, as a writer has happily expressed it, "a 
mixture of faults with misfortunes." A train ran 
off the track in England, killing five people, and 
it was found that the disaster was caused by the 
defective construction of a fixture on a wheel. 
This was not an accident, — it was a natural result 
of the carelessness of the workman who construct- 
ed the wheel. The thin and lofty walls of a new 
building in New York fell in, and killed several 
workmen. This was not an accident, — it was the 
effect of unfaithful workmanship, and might have 
been easily foreseen and avoided. " It used to be 



CAREFULNESS. 



185 



thought," observes an English writer, " that a cer- 
tain class of railway accidents were as inevitable 
as earthquakes. A belief is now entertained 
among scientific men, that no accident [of this 
class] occurs of which it may not be said that 
proper precautions — involving, probably a consid- 
erable outlay, would have prevented it." There 
is a passage of Scripture, which expressly incul- 
cates this duty of forethought and provision 
against accident. It is as follows : — " When thou 
buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a bat- 
tlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon 
thy house, if any man fall from thence."^ Deut. 
22 : 8. Here we have the principle I am con- 
tending for plainly taught ; viz., that it is our du- 
ty to provide against every calamity that may be 
foreseen ; and that if we neglect to do so, the 
blood of those who suffer through our carelessness 
will be upon our skirts. Let my readers always 
carry out the spirit of this inspired text, and they 
will never need to be reproached for carelessness. 

In conclusion, I will only add, that the lesson 
inculcated in this chapter, has a present as well as 
future importance to every reader. You should 

* The roofs of Jewish houses were nearly flat, and were a 
place of common resort for the family — hence the necessity 
of battlements for their protection. 
1£* 



186 the boy's own guide. 



aim to establish a habit of carefulness, not only 
for the benefits it will bring you hereafter, but for 
the good it will do you now. It will aid you won- 
derfully in your studies, and save you many an 
imperfect lesson. It will give a new value to the 
labor you perform. It will prevent many of your 
sports ending in pain and disappointment. It will 
save you not a few mortifying blunders. It will 
secure you the esteem and confidence of those 
who are older and wiser, and who never fail to ap- 
preciate this virtue, in the young. Such are some 
of its immediate fruits — the future results of this 
habit will be seen throughout your whole life. 



FRUGALITY. 



187 



CHAPTER XYI. 

FRUGALITY. 

Introductory — What is meant by frugality and extravagance 
—The two brothers and their presents— The Bible teach- 
es frugality — Jewish ideas of this duty --We are God's stew- 
ards — Frugality brings temporal blessings — Extravagance 
leads to crime — How Arnold became a traitor — Squan- 
dering stolen money — Self-denial and self-indulgence — ■ 
Frugality and charity — A rule for distinguishing between 
economy and meanness— The apprentice-boy and his daily 
luncheon — Prudent management of a poor orphan boy- 
Keeping account of receipts and expenses — Wasting the 
property of others— Benevolence the true safeguard against 
a miserly spirit. 

Some of the younger of my readers, who have not 
yet left the parental roof, may think this is a 
subject which does not belong to them ; but as the 
time will come, sooner or later, when even they 
will be called to take the management of their 
pecuniary affairs, to an extent, into their own 
hands, I hope they will not withhold their atten- 
tion from this chapter. 

By frugality, I mean a prudent, sparing and 



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judicious use of anything to be expended, whether 
money, goods, or any other kind of property. It 
is the opposite of a wasteful, extravagant and 
prodigal expenditure. Frugality, and its opposite 
quality, prodigality, often manifest themselves as 
plainly among the young as the old. A gentle- 
man once made two of his young nephews, George 
and J ames, a present of fifty cents each, in honor 
of a holiday. George laid out the whole of his 
money, before evening, in cakes, candy and fire- 
crackers — things that did him no good, and afford- 
ed him but a few moments' gratification. James, 
on the other hand, put his half dollar in a secure 
place, for that day, and enjoyed the benefits of it 
for months afterward, whenever he happened to 
want a new ball, kite-string, pencil, or book. The 
difference between these boys, is merely the dif- 
ference between extravagance and frugality. — 
James bought what he needed, George bought 
what he happened to see. James got the full 
benefit of his money — George squandered his on 
useless trifles. In boyhood, when a piece of pock- 
et-money was given to me, I used to be cautioned 
not to let it " burn a hole through my pocket." 
I think George could never have received any such 
advice ; if he had, he would have invested his 
funds a little more wisely. 



FRUGALITY. 



189 



Frugality is a duty we owe to God. We are 
his stewards, and we have no right to squander 
any thing he has entrusted to us. The unjust 
steward in our Saviour's parable, was removed 
from his office because he wasted his master's goods, 
and this foreshadows our fate, if we follow his 
example. " This world," says a Jewish rabbi, " is 
a house ; heaven, the roof ; the stars, the lights ; 
the earth with its fruits, a table spread ; the mas- 
ter of the house is the holy and blessed God ; 
man is the steward, into whose hands the goods of 
this house are delivered ; if he behave himself well, 
he shall find favor in the eyes of his Lord ; if not, 
he shall be turned out of his stewardship." It is 
said that the Jews were very careful not to lose 
any bread or let it be trodden upon. " He who 
despises bread, falls into the depth of poverty," 
was a saying among them. 

People sometimes say they have a right to spend 
their own property as they please. This is true, 
so far as it refers to human laws, but no farther. 
They are accountable to God for the manner in 
which they spend the property committed to their 
hands. In His eye, they are trustees or stewards, 
not absolute owners, and He will call them to ac- 
count for any misuse they may make of what He 
has lent them, " Gather up the fragments that 



190 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



remain," said our Saviour, " that nothing be lost." 
J ohn 6 : 12. We find economy everywhere in 
the universe of God. Waste is linked with chaos 
and confusion, but frugality forms a part of that 
beautiful order which is displayed throughout the 
works of God. 

Frugality is also a duty we owe to ourselves. 
Those who spend the fastest, and buy the most, 
and gratify every whim that enters their heads, 
are not usually the happiest people. Happiness 
does not consist so much in having an abundance, 
as in wanting little. " He that needs least is 
likest the gods," said Socrates. Those enjoy their 
wealth most, who use it prudently. Besides, 
frugality enriches, while extravagance reduces to 
want. The pleasures of frugality are therefore 
permanent, while those of the spendthrift are suc- 
ceeded by that to him worst of all ills, poverty. 
The career of the prodigal son who wasted his 
substance in riotous living, and was reduced from 
affluence to beggary, is an illustration of this. 
" There is treasure to be desired," says Solomon, 
" and oil in the dwelling of the wise ; but the 
foolish man spendeth it up." Prov. 21 : 20. 
Those who buy what they do not need, will be 
very likely by-and-by to need what they cannot 
buy. But this is not the worst. Moral ruin 



FRUGALITY. 



191 



often follows the pecuniary ruin of the prodigal. 
His honesty and integrity, long undermined and 
weakened by his extravagance, at length give 
way, and he closes his career, perhaps, with a 
flagrant act of fraud or embezzlement. The his- 
tory of Benedict Arnold is a striking proof of the 
danger of extravagance. His prodigal habits of 
living compelled him to resort to every species of 
artifice to obtain money. He sent in fraudulent 
accounts to Congress, which were discovered and 
rejected. A court-martial sentenced him to be 
reprimanded by the commander-in-chief, for his 
dishonesty ; and it was probably while smarting 
under this disgrace, that he resolved to seek re- 
venge by the sacrifice of his country. Thus, in 
the history of every bad man, do we find one sin 
ever leading to another and a greater. 

A bright-eyed little boy of eight years once 
went to a lady, and told her that her daughter, 
who was a school-teacher, had sent him to borrow 
a small sum of money for her. The story was * 
wholly false, but the lady did not suppose so 
young and fair-looking a lad could deceive her, 
and she gave him three dollars. The little thief 
then took a young companion, and treated them- 
selves to confectionery, &c, spending the money 
as freely as though a gold mine were under their 



192 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



control. Here it is easy to see the connection 
between the falsehood and fraud with which this 
boy commenced his roguery, and the foolish ex- 
travagance with which he ended it. It is hardly 
too much to say, that a youth who would squander 
two or three dollars on confectionery in one af- 
ternoon, even of his own money, would not hesi- 
tate to steal, if he had a good opportunity, and 
was in want of money. 

The habit of self-denial which frugality calls 
forth, is one of the most valuable of the fruits of 
this virtue. It gives us greater self-command, 
and makes us more manly and noble. And so, 
on the other hand, every dollar which is spent ex- 
travagantly or uselessly, is not only a pecuniary 
loss, but serves to strengthen a mean and sinful 
habit — a fondness for self-indulgence. 

Frugality is a duty we owe to others besides 
God and ourselves. No duty is more plainly 
taught in the Bible than that of charity ; but we 
never look for this virtue in the spendthrift. 
Those whose motto is, " Let us eat and drink, for 
tomorrow we die," (Is. 22 : 13,) are not generally 
remarkable for their benevolence. If our chari- 
table institutions were left to the care of such, 
their existence would be short indeed. " Those 



FRUGALITY. 



193 



who would be charitable," says Matthew Henry, 
" must be provident." 

The degree of economy which you exercise, 
should depend somewhat upon your possessions. 
What would be very proper economy in a poor 
man, might be meanness in a rich man. As a 
general rule, we should avoid all extravagant and 
useless outlays, and always keep our expenses 
within our receipts. Says Rev. H. Winslow, in 
his " Young Man's Aid ": — "I heard a gentleman 
of large property, who began life with nothing, 
say, that when he was an apprentice-boy, he was 
for some weeks in the habit of stepping into a 
shop, at eleven o'clock, and of treating himself 
with a piece of pie, at the expense of six cents. 
He one day thought within himself that it was a 
foolish habit, of no advantage to his health ; that 
six cents a day amounts in a year to about twenty 
dollars, and that the money spent in this way, 
with the interest upon it, would in a few years 
swell to a sufficient sum to start a man in busi- 
ness, and become the germ of a future fortune. 
He immediately abandoned the habit ; and who 
can tell how far his subsequent success has turned 
on that important incident ?" Here was true and 
sensible economy, and the example of this lad 
may be safely imitated by any youth who has 

17 



194 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



fallen into the habit of spending money in a simi- 
lar foolish way. 

The following more rigid and systematic exam- 
ple of frugality, recently occurred in an American 
city, and is worthy of imitation by those who may 
be cast upon their own resources for support in 
early life. During the prevalence of an epidemic, 
a lad of fifteen was suddenly deprived of both of 
his parents, who left him their little all, consist- 
ing of a small house, worth some four hundred 
dollars. With a prudence and economy worthy 
of an older head, this lad began life for himself 
by letting his house at a dollar a week, seventy- 
five cents of which was deducted for his board. 
He also procured employment for himself as a 
newspaper-carrier, for which he received two dol- 
lars a week ; and this sum, with the surplus rent 
money, he regularly deposited in the savings-bank 
each Saturday night — the amount he received for 
" carrier's addresses," on New Year's day, being 
sufficient to clothe him through the year. But 
the best of the story is, that this brave little man 
was very fond of school, and though obliged to be 
up at his labors before daybreak, was always 
punctually at his seat in the public school. 
Should he be prospered, when he reaches man- 
hood, he will not only have a snug capital with 



FRUGALITY. 



1P5 



which to commence business, but he will have ac- 
quired habits and formed a character which will 
be almost certain to insure him success. 

As an aid to the formation of frugal habits, I 
would earnestly recommend my readers to keep 
an accurate record of their receipts and expenses. 
By thus calling yourself to account for every cent 
you expend, your inclinations for extravagant 
purchases will be checked. Those who spend 
freely, are seldom aware of the large drafts they 
make upon their purse, till it is emptied. Then 
they wonder where the money all went, but can- 
not tell. 

Those of you who are in the service of others, 
should remember that frugality is a duty you owe 
to your employers as well as to yourselves. Be 
as careful of their interests and property as of 
your own. To waste and squander the goods of 
another, is downright dishonesty ; and yet an im- 
mense sum is annually lost to employers, through 
the carelessness and wastefulness of their work- 
men. 

In leaving this subject, let me caution the 
reader not to allow his frugality to degenerate 
into a mean and miserly spirit. " The best pre- 
ventive of this," says a writer before 1 quoted, 
Rev. Mr. Winslow, "is a habit of beneficence. 



198 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



Begin early to interest your heart and engage 
your hand in the various objects of Christian be- 
nevolence. The money expended upon the grati- 
fications of vanity, amusement and appetite, is 
usually worse than thrown away. But that which 
is given to alleviate human sufferings, or to pro- 
mote the cause of morality and religion, blesses 
both him that gives and him that takes. ' There 
is that scattereth and yet increaseth ; there is 
that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth 
to poverty.' " 



GOOD MANNERS. 



197 



CHAPTER XVII. 

GOOD MANNERS. 

Good manners more winning than beauty — The difference 
between true and false politeness— Portraiture of a polite 
youth— Juvenile rudeness and impudence — The Indian 
strangers and their tormentors— Low, foolish and clownish 
habits— Offences against good breeding — Politeness to all, 
and at all times — Well-bred people are quiet — Courtesy 
must spring from the heart — Keeping the heart right — 
Chesterfield's heartless politeness — Bit.le precepts — Cour- 
teous deportment of our Saviour — Paul's manners— A po- 
etical description of the true gentleman. 

God has not bestowed upon all of us beauty of 
form and countenance, by which we may pre- 
possess the stranger in our behalf — for it is not to 
be denied that these gifts favorably impress men, 
while their absence often excites prejudice at first 
sight. But there is a grace more winning and 
endearing, in the daily intercourse of life, than 
mere comeliness of person — the grace of politeness, 
or good manners — whose influence we all may ex- 
ercise. Beauty, without good manners, is " like 
a jewel in a swine's snout;" but that refinement of 

17* 



198 the boy's own guide. 



mind and kindliness of heart which manifest them- 
selves in gentle, courteous deportment, lend a 
charm even to the plainest face, which wins upon 
us the oftener we behold it. I do not mean by 
good manners and courteous deportment, that 
formal, artificial, heartless etiquette which is ob- 
served in fashionable society. True courtesy is 
not a thing of gentility and fashion — it is found 
in the cottage of the poor as well as in the palace 
of the rich — in the cabin of the African as well 
as in the saloon of the Frenchman. It is not to 
be learned of the dancing-master, but is the natu- 
ral language of a kind heart — the bubbling up of 
disinterested love. Lord Chatham has defined it 
as "benevolence in trifles, or the preference of 
others to ourselves in little daily, hourly occur- 
rences in the commerce of life. It is a perpetual 
attention," he adds, " to the little wants of those 
with whom we are, by which attention we either 
prevent or remove them. Bowing, ceremonious, 
formal compliments, stiff civilities, will never be 
politeness : that must be easy, natural, unstudied, 
manly, noble ; and what will give this but a mind 
benevolent and perpetually attentive to exert that 
amiable disposition in trifles to all you converse 
and live with?" It also manifests itself by ab- 
staining from language, habits and actions which 



GOOD MANNERS. 



199 



would wound the feelings of others. " Polite- 
ness," saj^s Dr. Witherspoon, " is real kindness 
kindly expressed," and a better definition could 
not be given. 

True courtesy or politeness will manifest itself 
towards inferiors as well as superiors — -towards 
strangers as well as acquaintances. The youth in 
whom it exists is always civil and respectful 
towards superiors, and reverences the gray head 
of age. He does not attempt to make himself fa- 
miliar with those who are greatly beyond him in 
age and wisdom. He treats his equals with re- 
spect, and though intimate with them, he is not 
rude and ill-mannered in their presence. Espe- 
cially is he careful not to show any contempt for 
those who are really his inferiors. If they are 
servants, he never orders them to do this or that, 
with a haughty, domineering tone, but mildly 
requests them to perform the duty desired. If 
they are younger in years, he does not play the 
tyrant over them, nor treat them as though they 
were beneath his notice. If they are poorly 
clothed, or ignorant, or deformed, he avoids doing 
or saying any thing that might remind them of 
these defects, or put himself in favorable contrast 
with them. He is also courteous to the stranger 
and the way-faring man who may accost him, and, 



200 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



in snort, his intercourse with others is uniformly 
civil and respectful. 

I have seen lads who will answer to this de- 
scription, but they are not so common as they 
should be. There is a general complaint of the 
rudeness, pertness and even impudence of the 
youth of the present day. It is thought that 
these vices are much more common among lads 
now than they were fifty or even twenty years 
ago, and I fear there is too much reason for 
thinking so. In Washington, a short time since, 
two Indians from New Mexico who were on a 
visit to the Government, were assailed by rude 
boys, while peaceably walking the streets, who 
threw stones at the strangers, and otherwise in- 
sulted and annoyed them. What an opinion these 
savages must form of our civilized boys, if they 
regard these youth as a specimen of them ! I 
hope they are not a fair specimen ; and yet, the 
very week this disgraceful scene was enacted at 
Washington, I witnessed something very similar 
in Boston — a crowd of children hooting and 
running after a poor Indian woman and child, 
who were obliged to take refuge in a store. 

There is another class of boys who are addicted 
to low, vulgar tricks, antic gestures, foolish buf- 
foonery, and other clownish habits. These things 



GOOD MANNERS. 



201 



are a gross violation of good manners, and are 
very disgusting to sensible people. They may ex- 
cite the laughter of fools, but you cannot indulge 
in such habits without lowering yourself in the 
estimation of those whose good-will you should 
most highly esteem. 

There are certain forms of etiquette or decorum 
recognized in all refined society, which are closely 
allied to the courtesy I have endeavored to de- 
scribe. They constitute what we call " good 
breeding," and should be respected by all who 
aim to be courteous in their deportment. I will 
mention a few offences against good breeding 
which are most common among boys : — Spitting 
and hawking — this is a disgusting and filthy habit, 
very common in this country, but not tolerated 
among well-bred people in Europe ; blowing the 
nose with the fingers, or with a loud noise ; 
scratching the head ; picking the teeth ; wearing a 
hat or cap in the house ; slamming doors, and 
making other needless noise in going about the 
house ; staring people in the face ; using low, 
slang phrases ; flatly contradicting the assertions 
of others ; taking any thing without thanking the 
giver ; not giving attention when spoken to ; an- 
swering the questions of your elders with a blunt 
" no," or " yes," instead of " no sir," &c. ; tilting 



202 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



backwards in chairs, or sitting on two chairs ; 
eating at the table in a ravenous manner, or com- 
plaining of the food provided for you ; secretly 
listening to conversation which does not concern 
yourself; speaking of your parents, teachers or 
employers as the "old man," or the "old woman;" 
interrupting others in their remarks ; whistling, 
humming, or drumming with the feet or fingers, 
in the presence of others ; and a hundred other 
practices, of a similar nature, which need not be 
described. 

Such habits as the above should be avoided 
in early life, for when once acquired, it is difficult 
to break them up. Politeness is not like a holi- 
day garment, which may be used occasionally on 
extra occasions, and then laid aside. The truly 
courteous man is polite to all, and at all times. 
" At first sight," says an English writer, touching 
this subject, " this would seem to be of easy ac- 
complishment ; yet it is very difficult. One can 
give pain, or offend, in so many different ways — 
for instance, by being boisterous, noisy, talkative, 
saucy, pert, vain, self-conceited, and opinionative, 
by speaking on subjects disagreeable to the listen- 
er, by speaking too much of one's self, by staring 
rudely, and by committing many other absurd i- 



GOOD MANNERS. 



203 



ties of behavior in company — that you require 
not only to be well-grounded in rules for good 
manners, but continually on your guard, lest you 
give offence, and by doing so, render yourself 
hated and despised." The same writer, after de- 
scribing the conduct of the well-bred man, says, 
" The point worthy of your notice here is, the 
quietness of manner, the repose, the decorum, 
which is associated with the behavior of the per- 
son of good breeding. You will never fail to re- 
mark the reverse in the case of individuals who 
are heedless of the rules which are observed in 
cultivated society. Look at the conduct of an 
ill-bred man. He enters a room with noise, sits 
down and rises up with noise, and every thing 
else he does is done with noise. It would seem 
that he can do nothing quietly. Noise is thus 
the characteristic of the ill-bred, as quietness is 
that of the well-bred man ; and it is scarcely 
necessary to inform you that this noise is pro- 
ductive of any thing but agreeable sensations. 
Nobody can possibly like it : it mars every one's 
comfort." 

But it must not be forgotten that all real eour= 
tesy springs from the heart. There is a sham 
courtesy, — the politeness of fops and rogues, (for 



204 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE, 



even rogues are sometimes very polished in their 
dress and manners), — which has nothing to do 
-with the heart; but this. mere outward polish is 
not what constitutes true courtesy. Remember 
Dr. Witherspoon's definition, already quoted, — 
" real kindness, kindly expressed; " not affected 
kindness, not deception, gloss and flattery, but 
sincere good-will, kindly manifested. The first 
step, then, in forming courteous manners, is to see 
that the heart is full of kindness, gentleness and 
love. To talk pleasantly, and wear a smiling 
face, while resentment, malice, and other evil 
passions, are making their unclean nest in the 
heart, is rank hypocrisy, though it sometimes 
passes in the world for politeness. The deception 
may succeed for a while, but sooner or later it will 
be exposed. Lord Chesterfield's politeness was after 
this sort. He was regarded by men of the world as 
the very pattern of elegance and high breeding ; but 
in his famous " Letters to his Son," on manners, 
he did not blush to recommend hypocrisy, licen- 
tiousness and infidelity. Desire for the applause 
of mankind was the moving principle of his life, 
and his refined and polished exterior was one of 
the ways by which he sought it. Honor, affection, 
morality and religion he deemed useless, so long 



GOOD MANNERS. 



205 



as a gentlemanly exterior was kept up. How 
different this whited sepulchre of fashionable 
politeness, from the warm and gentle courtesy 
that springs from the heart ! 

The formation of good manners is inculcated in 
the Bible as a duty. " Be courteous," says Peter. 
" Be gentle unto all men," says Paul. We are 
also commanded to "be kindly affectioned one to 
another, with brotherly love, in honor preferring 
one another ; " to " put on kindness and humble- 
ness of mind ; " to " honor all men," &c, in all of 
which directions the duty of courtesy is involved. 
The same may be said of the golden rule, to treat 
others as we would have them treat us, which con- 
tains the very essence of true courtesy and good 
manners. If you will study the life of our Saviour, 
you will find this virtue conspicuous in all his 
intercourse with men. Even in the sad hour of 
his betrayal, when J udas approached, he mildly 
addressed him, " Friend," not villain, or traitor, 
as he might justly have done, but " Friend, where- 
fore art thou come ? " Matt. 26 : 50. The apostle 
Paul possessed the same beautiful trait. " The 
character of St. Paul," says a writer on etiquette, 
" affords to bishops, priests and deacons as fine a 
pattern of manners, as it does to all men of ardor; 

18 



206 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



his courtly bearing has often commanded respect, 
where his arguments have failed to convert." 
Many similar examples will also be found in the 
Old Testament, especially in the lives of the 
patriarchs ; and in the fifteenth Psalm there is a 
fine description of the true gentleman, a metrical 
version of which I will here insert. This hymn, it 
is said, was copied by President J efferson into his 
common-place book ; and it was the answer which 
the highly-polished Gov. Morris, of New Jersey, 
made, on being asked his definition of a gentleman. 
The reader will do well to commit the verses to 
memory. 

11 'Tis he whose every thought and deed 
By rule of virtue moves ; 
Whose generous tongue disdains to speak 
The thing his heart disproves. 

Who never did a slander forge, 

His neighbor's fame to wound ; 
Nor hearken to a false report, 

By malice whisper' d round. 

Who vice, in all its pomp and power, 

Can treat with just neglect; 
And piety, though clothed in rags, 

Religiously respect 



GOOD MANNERS. 



207 



Who to his plighted word9 and trust 

Has ever firmly stood ; 
And, though he promised to his loss, 

He.mak.es his promise good. 

Whose soul in usury disdains 

His treasure to employ ; 
Whom no reward can ever bribe 

The guiltless to destroy." 



208 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 

Beauty of person of little consequence — A few words to the 
homely and to the handsome — Beauty and vanity— Home- 
liness and envy — Personal comeliness of Joseph, Moses, 
David nnd Eliab — The beauty of a pleasant countenance 
— Effects of evil passions upon the expression of the face 
— The requisites of dress — Wearing old clothes — Young 
Bowditch and his comrades — A caution to the well- 
dressed— Danger of a love of dress— Robert and his new 
suit— A sad history— A fondness for dress leads to foppery 
— History of Beau Brummell — A foolish life, and a miser- 
able end— Conclusion. 

This subject divides itself into two branches, viz., 
the outward form and features of the body, and 
the dress which clothes it. 

Every one is pleased at first sight with a hand- 
some face, and a noble form, but after all, these 
are things of very little importance to us, and it is 
a sign of a weak mind, to make much account of 
them. God has bestowed upon us these bodies, 
according to his own pleasure, and since we did 
not make them homely or beautiful, and cannot 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



209 



ourselves change them, we ought not to be either 
proud or ashamed of them. Should this meet the 
eye of any youth who is plain or deformed in 
person, let me assure him that these qualities 
need give him no uneasy thoughts. Unfeeling and 
ill-mannered lads may occasionally mock at his 
inferiority, but the jeers of such are not much to be 
feared. A homely exterior, if accompanied by 
good manners and a good character, soon loses its 
homeliness. We discover a kind of beauty in the 
faces of [those who are kind, gentle and amiable, 
no matter how plain their features, or how inferior 
their forms. On the other- hand, if God has 
bestowed a comely person upon you, do not spoil 
the gift by vanity, or by presuming too much upon 
the advantages it is supposed to confer. " Beauty 
is vain." Prov. 31 : 30. The favor and respect 
won by a fair and lovely countenance, are fre- 
quently turned into neglect and disgust, when 
further acquaintance betrays the absence of more 
solid excellences. Vanity is the besetting sin of 
beauty, and it is better to be plain, or even ugly, 
than to be handsome at such a price. Mr. Abbott 
mentions a little boy, whose beauty was often 
praised by visitors, and who in consequence be- 
came so vain, that one day, when a gentleman 
called who did not praise his looks, he placed 

18* 



210 THE boy's own guide. 



himself in front of the stranger, and said, " Why 
don't you see how beautiful I be ? " I have seen 
many handsome people who plainly acted out -the 
same thing, if they did not say it in so many 
words. 

But we are not to conclude that all who are 
handsomer than ourselves, are vain. This is envy, 
and envy is no better than vanity. Some of the 
humblest men whose histories are recorded in the 
Bible, were celebrated for their personal beauty. 
Joseph, in his youth, " was a goodly person, and 
well-favored." Gen. 39 : 6. Mahomet represents 
him in the Koran, (I know not on what authority,) 
as a perfect beauty, and the most accomplished of 
mortals, and his beauty is so celebrated in the 
East, that a handsome man is often compared to 
him. Moses, in his childhood, " was exceeding 
fair." Acts 6 : 20. Young David, when anointed 
for the throne, " was ruddy, and withal of a beau- 
tiful countenance, and goodly to look to." 1 Sam. 
16 : 12. And David had a still handsomer bro- 
ther, whose case illustrates the truth that beauty 
and excellence do not always go together. When 
Samuel was searching for Israel's future king 
among the sons of Jesse, the Lord said unto him 
concerning this brother (Eliab), " Look not on his 
countenance, or on the height of his stature : 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



211 



because I have refused him : for the Lord seeth 
not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the outward 
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 
1 Sam. 16 : 7. 

There is, however, one kind of personal beauty 
which is within the reach of every one — the 
beauty of a pleasant countenance. Do you know 
that our habitual states of mind after a while 
impress themselves upon the face ? An observing 
English writer, Leigh Hunt, says he has observed, 
that lips become more or less contracted in the 
course of years, in proportion as they are accus- 
tomed to express good humor and generosity, or 
peevishness or a contracted mind. " Remark," he 
observes, " the effect which a moment of ill- 
humor and grudgingness has upon the lips, and 
judge what may be expected from an habitual 
series of such moments. Bemark the reverse, 
and make a similar judgment." There is doubt- 
less some truth in this observation ; and hence 
there is a literal meaning in the old maxim, 
" Handsome is that handsome does." Thus the 
man who is always pleasant and kind, stamps 
these qualities on his sunny countenance so plainly, 
that you cannot mistake it. A continual smile 
plays about his features. And on the same prin- 
ciple, the man who is habitually sour and cross, 



212 



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makes the fact known to the world in every line 
and wrinkle of his repulsive face. Both of these 
men may have been naturally destitute of beauty ; 
but there is the same difference between their 
looks as between the bright sunshine and the 
gloomy cloud. 

In regard to dress, the chief requisites should 
be comfort, appropriateness, convenience and 
neatness. It should always correspond with our 
means and occupations. Let no lad who is born 
to poverty, be ashamed of his coarse and well- 
worn cloth, or of the patches upon his knees and 
elbows. It is no disgrace to be poor, or to wear 
an old garment. Many of our most useful and 
respected men can remember the days when they 
were obliged to wear old and oft-mended garments. 
The parents of Dr. Bowditch, the eminent Amer- 
ican navigator, whose noble bronze statue in 
Mount Auburn cemetery some of you may have 
seen, were so poor that he was obliged to wear his 
summer clothes to school one entire winter. Some 
of his schoolmates laughed at him for appearing in 
such a cool dress, but he took no notice of their 
jeers, except to laugh at them in return for wrap- 
ping themselves up so warm. Xo sensible or good- 
hearted youth will shun another, because his 
clothes are not as new and handsome as his own. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



213 



You need not desire the acquaintance of that 
schoolmate or companion who has more respect 
for your dress than for yourself. 

There is another class of youth, who are in 
greater danger from fine clothing than from poor. 
There is reason to fear that their handsome and 
oft-renewed suits will beget in them a mean pride, 
which will lead them to shun the society of those 
who are not so well dressed. They will thus 
probably lose many advantages for social enjoy- 
ment and self-improvement, besides fastening upon 
themselves a reputation for vanity and exclusive- 
ness. If I address any of this class, let me urge 
them not to presume for a moment that the supe- 
rior cut or texture of their garments makes them 
any better, or more worthy of respect, than others. 
Estimate your associates, not by what they wear, 
but by what they are ; and remember that the 
time may come when they will dress in purple 
and fine linen, and you will be reduced to the 
wardrobe of Lazarus. 

But sometimes people appear in more costly 
attire than they can really afford to wear; and 
this leads me to say, that a desire to dress well 
has led many a lad into extravagance, dishon- 
esty and disgrace. A few years since, a fine 
and promising lad of fifteen was intrusted with a 



214 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



clerkship under the English government, in con- 
sideration of the services of his deceased father, 
who had been a naval officer. Robert, — that was 
his name, — generously devoted his whole salary to 
his mother, who had several younger children, 
and was left in poverty. It was a happy family, 
and how could it be otherwise, with such a son to 
supply the place of the lost father ? But alas ! 
there was a worm at the root of their joy. A love 
of dress came over the mind of Robert. He forgot 
how much more truly beautiful a pure mind is 
than a finely-decorated exterior. He took pleasure 
in helping his mother and sisters, but did not take 
greater pleasure in thinking that to do this kind- 
ness to them he must be contented for a time to 
dress a little worse than his fellow clerks ; his 
clothes might appear a little worn, but they were 
like the spot on the dress of a soldier, arising 
from the discharge of duty ; they were no marks 
of undue carelessness, necessity had wrought 
them ; and while they indicated necessity they 
marked also the path of honor, and without such 
spots duty must have been neglected. But this 
youth did not think of such great thoughts as 
these. He felt ashamed at his thread-bare but 
clean coat. The smart, new-shining dress of other 
clerks mortified him. In an evil hour he ordered 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



215 



a suit of clothes from a fashionable tailor. His 
situation and connections procured him a short 
credit. But tradesmen must be paid, and Robert 
was again and again importuned to defray his 
debt. To relieve himself of his creditor he stole 
a letter containing a ten pound note. His tailor 
was paid, but his sin found him out. He was 
arrested, tried, condemned, and the fair lad of 
fifteen, who had never before committed a crime, 
was separated from his broken-hearted family, and 
transported to a distant penal colony. Brief was 
the interval he wore his dress of guilt; it was 
soon exchanged for one much worse than the 
thread-bare marks of honorable poverty — that of 
a convict. He was profoundly humbled and sin- 
cerely penitent, but his offence could not be par- 
doned, Public security demanded its punish- 
ment ; and his was another example of the intense 
folly of a love of dress. How many others have 
fallen, in a similar way ! 

This is not the only danger attending a fond- 
ness for dress. Those who think much of fine 
clothing, soon come to think little of every thing 
else. Their minds become stunted and belittled, 
their moral feelings are smothered, and all the 
dignity and excellence of manhood are sacrificed 
to the fopperies and follies of fashion. Instead 



216 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



of copying the examples of the great and good, 
and aiming at a useful life, they appear rather to 
ape the manners and aspire to the glories of the 
strutting peacock, whose boast is in gay feathers 
and a stately form. Of all men, the mere dandy 
is the most useless and contemptible ; and it 
should be remembered that dandies sometimes 
commence their career in jackets and trowsers. 
Some of my readers have probably heard of a 
character familiarly known as "Beau Brummell." 
His name was George B. Brummell, and his his- 
tory is the best sermon on the folly and sin of 
foppery that I have ever read. Though naturally 
possessed of good parts, which might have made 
him useful, if not eminent, in some respectable 
calling, Brummell dedicated his whole mind and 
soul and strength to dress and fashion. He lav- 
ished an inherited fortune of one hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars on the adornment of his 
body, and squandered a still larger sum, which he 
obtained by gambling and by gift, and then ran 
in debt for more. But he attained the object of 
his ambition. No man in England could rival 
him in the tying of a cravat, or the putting on of 
a coat. He was the acknowledged leader in the 
world of fashion. The aristocracy courted and 
petted him, and even the Prince of "Wales felt his 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



217 



acquaintance to be an honor. But never was 
there an instance in which it might be said with 
more truth, that 

" guilt and greatness equal ran, 
And all that raised the hero, sunk the man." 

His fortune gone, Brummell resorted to gam- 
bling, and at one time gained twenty-six thousand 
pounds, all of which he ultimately lost. At 
length he became involved in a transaction which 
rendered him answerable to the law, and to 
escape justice he fled to France. Here he con- 
tinued the same round of frivolity and dissipation 
as before, until he was taken to the debtor's 
prison in , an agony of tears, where he remained 
several months. Soon after his friends procured 
his release, it became evident that even the mis- 
erable distinction which he had acquired, was be- 
ginning to decay. He became less neat and 
cleanly in his person ; his long-neglected intellect 
began to sink into a torpor ; and at last partial 
insanity set in. He who formerly wore three 
clean shirts a day, and other articles in propor- 
tion, was now reduced to a single ragged suit. 
His former associates forsook him, and even the 
boys in the streets laughed at him as he passed, 

19 



218 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



so utterly had he fallen. This poor victim of 
vanity died in a lunatic hospital, in 1840, at the 
age of sixty-two ; and a clergyman who attended 
him in his last hours, thus describes the melan- 
choly state of his mind and heart, in prospect of 
death : — " Mr. Brummell appeared quite incapa- 
ble of conversing on religious subjects. I failed 
in every attempt to lead his mind, (if he can be 
said to have retained any power of mind,) to their 
consideration. I never, in the course of my at- 
tendance upon the sick, aged, and dying, came in 
contact with so painful an exhibition of human 
vanity and apparent ignorance and thoughtless- 
ness, of and respecting a future state ; for I have 
before visited persons whose mental powers were 
equally shattered; but still it was possible to 
touch some chord, connected with religion, to 
which they responded, perhaps weakly and imper- 
fectly : with him there was some response when 
sounded on worldly subjects, none on religious." 

I have given this narrative of Beau Brummell 
at length, because it strikingly illustrates the 
folly, the evil and the danger of excessive fond- 
ness for dress. I need add nothing to this im- 
pressive exhibition of human weakness. Let us 
all resolve, in obedience to our Saviour, to " take 
no thought," (be not careful or anxious,) for our 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 



219 



bodies, what we shall put on, or how we shall 
adorn them ; but let us strive for that inner 
adorning of the heart, " even the ornament of a 
meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of 
God of great price." 1 Pet. 3 : 4. 



220 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE LOVE OF HOME. 

A boy's wish — A roving disposition — The runaway — The 
wound he inflicts upon his parents — He reaches the city — 
The spell broken — His loneliness and misery — Seeks em- 
ployment — His dangers — The runaway at sea — Sickness — 
Eough treatment — Hard labor — Cruel discipline — The end 
of the romance — Moral dangers of the sailor — The love of 
home — Lounging about public places — The " evening 
street school " — Its lessons — Its graduates — Bands of 
young robbers — Danger of bad associates. 

I have seen a spirited poem, said to have been 
written by a lad of ten years, of which the follow- 
ing verse is a sample : 

" 0, that I were a pirate, 

Upon a boiling sea ; 
I know I should admire it, 

Because it is so free I" 

No doubt many a lad has indulged the same 
wish, as, in his day visions, he has dreamed by 
the hour of the bold and romantic life of the free- 



THE LOVE OF HOME. 



booter. Others, less giddy and heedless, do not 
care to turn pirates, but sigh for the roving life 
of the sailor, or of the daring adventurer in for- 
eign lands. The duties of the school-room, and 
the common pursuits of the shop and the farm, 
seem tame to both of these classes of youth. 
The lad who has imbibed this spirit, cannot en- 
dure these common employments — he wants 
something new, and exciting, and romantic. He 
loses his relish for study and labor, in proportion 
as he indulges this restless, roving disposition. 
He makes himself and his friends unhappy ; and 
perhaps the end of it is, some day he suddenly 
disappears from home, and goes — no one knows 
whither. His parents' hearts are wrung with 
anguish, as they seek in vain to learn the fate of 
their lost boy. By day they brood in sorrow 
over the dangers and evils with which their fears 
strew his pathway, and at night they are startled 
from their sleep by hideous visions, in which the 
wanderer is ever present, either as a victim of 
cruelty and misfortune, or, yet worse, of his own 
vices and crimes. Ah, this is a wound which 
even time cannot heal — the wound inflicted by an 
ungrateful child, who has requited years of tender 
care and solicitude by renouncing and forsaking 
his parents, at the very time when he should 



222 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



begin to repay their thousand sacrifices in his 
behalf. 

But what has become of the runaway ? Per- 
haps, in his secluded village home he has heard 
much of the vastness and magnificence of some 
distant city, and to that he turns his steps, con- 
vinced that he is on the road to fortune and hap- 
piness. "Worn, and weary, and penniless, he at 
last reaches the end of his j ourney. He is for a 
time confused, almost fascinated, by the innumer- 
able multitude of strange scenes that flit by him 
like a quick-inoving panorama. But now another 
and very different sensation begins to creep over 
him. The spell that entranced him away from 
his father's roof is broken ; the bright vision be- 
gins to disappear ; the fairy castles he has built 
in the air melt into nothing. A profusion of 
wealth of which he never before conceived, glit- 
ters around him on every side, but there is not a 
dime to purchase for him a loaf of bread. He is 
hemmed in by a wilderness of homes, but no door 
opens to receive the poor wanderer. Thousands, 
hundreds of thousands of human beings are in- 
closed in that little circle of two or three miles, 
but not one of them all knows or cares for him. 
He wanders up and down the streets, until per- 
haps he attracts the notice of some vigilant 



THE LOVE OF HOME. 



223 



policeman, who, on learning his destitution, fur- 
nishes him a supper, and quarters for the night, 
and sends him forth on the morrow, to obtain 
employment. Employment — ah, he must after 
all work for a living ; and hard work, and a 
scanty living, he finds it, too, away from all who 
love him, and from the sweet endearments of 
home. 

But, you say, he is free — he is his own master, 
and can do as he pleases. Yes, he is free — free 
from the judicious counsels and restraints of his 
father; free from" the watchful care of his mother; 
free from all the salutary influences of home ; free 
from almost every restraint that God has de- 
signed to shield those of his age. Happy will it 
be for him, should he pass this critical point of 
his life without making shipwreck of character 
and hopes.^ 

But perhaps the runaway lad was bent upon 
going to sea. The mere name of "ocean," "ship," 
" sailor," had a charm for him which he could 
not resist. He ships for a voyage, and his heart 

* Since the above was written, I have seen a statement 
in a leading New York daily journal, to the effect that nine- 
teen-tiuentietlis of the young men who go to that city to seek 
fortunes, not only drag out an existence of poverty, but usu- 
ally fall victims to sin, and die vagabonds. 



224 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



beats with pride and delight at the thought of 
realizing at last the bright dreams of his life. 
What those dreams turn out to be, I will leave it 
for another to describe who has been through it 
all. 

" The ship sails, and for a day or so you are 
too sick to do any duty, and too much a piece of 
mere lumber in everybody's way during the hur- 
ry of departure ; so you are unceremoniously 
kicked below to rough it out as you may. On 
the morning of the second day you find yourself 
included in the first mate's watch, which happens 
to be the morning watch — 4, A. ML, to 8, A. M. 
— and are called on deck. You stagger up, feel- 
ing very queer, very weak, very miserable. It is 
a fine summer morning, with a steady breeze, and 
the ship is calmly gliding along on a taut bowline. 
You have no heart to look much about you, but 
you see that every soul on deck is at work. You 
sit down on the booms, greatly exhausted, and 
the next moment a rope's end is smartly laid 
across your shoulders, and the mate, with an oath, 
asks you whether you have shipped to sit for a 
figure-head, and the sailors chuckle, and the ship- 
boys wink and grin, and put out their tongues. 
You rub your shoulders in amazement, and think 
of your poor mother at home, and burst into 



THE LOVE OF HOME. 



225 



tears. The mate calls yon a sniveling milksop, 
and sets you to scrape the tar off a seam of the 
deck, recently payed, with a mysterious admoni- 
tion that if you don't mind what you are about 
you will receive a liberal allowance of ' beans and 
bacon !' You don't know what beans and bacon 
mean on shipboard ; but you do know that your 
soft white hands are very sore with grasping the 
shaft of the rough scraper, and very pitchy in a 
few minutes, and you mentally think there is very 
little romance in the operation. Four bells strike 
— 6, A. M. — and the word is given to rig the 
head-pumps, and wash down the decks. The 
sailors roughly call you to bear a hand ; and you 
have to pump away, and to take off your shoes 
and stockings, and paddle with naked feet among 
the cold water surging over the decks. Then 
comes the holy-stoning part ; and you are set to 
haul about the ' bibles,' as sailors profanely call 
the large stones — and to kneel and rub away with 
' prayer-books,' — small hand-stones, — till you 
fancy it is just the sort of work your mother's 
kitchen-maid is used to, and you are thankful 
none of your friends see you engaged at it, and 
you are very certain there isn't a bit of romance 
in it. This lasts till eight bells, and then you go 
to breakfast with what appetite you may. 



226 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE, 



" Four hours later you are summoned on deck 
again ; and the sailors push and knock you about, 
and one orders you to do this, and another to do 
that, and all swear at you for your awkwardness 
and stupidity, and you are perfectly bewildered 
and frightened, and a picture of misery. The 
busy mate sees you ; and — ' Hollo you, sir !' cries 
he, ' skulking again, are you ? I'll polish you ! 
Take that bucket of slush, and la} T aloft and rub 
down the royal-mast. And mind what you do, 
for my eye is on you !' 

" You have a bucket of tar and grease and a 
bunch of oakum thrust into your clammy hands, 
and are hurried aloft. How you ever got to the 
royal-mast-head you have no subsequent recol- 
lection. You are too dizzy to know what you 
are about ; but the mate, whom you think is a 
demon, is nothing of the sort. He is only doing 
his duty. You have shipped to become a sailor, 
and he is beginning to make a sailor of you. He 
sends an experienced ship-boy aloft to look after 
you, and this youth digs his knuckles into your 
sides to make you ascend, and tells you to fix 
your eyes above your head, instead of below your 
feet ; and when you hesitate to dip your delicate 
fist in the stinking slush, he deliberately gives 
you a dab in the mouth with it, and asks you 
who you think you are ? You hardly know your- 



THE LOVE OF HOME. 



227 



self by this time who you are, nor what you are ; 
but you feel in every bone of your body and 
every tingling muscle, that you have found no ro- 
mance in a sailor's life yet. 

" And, my young friend, what is more, you 
never will ! There is no romance in life at sea. 
You will find it nothing but hard work — hourly 
drudgery. Every soul on board a ship, from cabin- 
boy to captain, has duties which fully occupy ev- 
ery minute of his time — hard duties, stern duties, 
prosaic duties. Every private feeling, considera- 
tion and predilection, yields to them. A sailor, 
no matter what his station, never indulges in ro- 
mantic fancies of any kind. His life and conver- 
sation, whether afloat or ashore, are as matter-of- 
fact as those of a baker or tallow-chandler. He 
lives a live of extreme hardship, toil and priva- 
tion; and the reason he follows the sea all his 
days is very frequently because three or four years 
of sea-life totally unfit him for any other calling."^ 



* I hardly need apologize for copying this long extract 
from a writer whose name is unknown to me, since it is so 
admirably adapted to correct a false impression which every 
one knows to be very common and very mischievous among 
lads, at least in New England. Our ships must have boys, 
it is true, but it is not necessary that they should enter the 
marine service with such false impressions of its duties and 
enjoyments as are commonly entertained. 



228 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



The writer of the above has not alluded to the 
worst thing of all in the life of the sailor-boy, — 
his deprivation of religious privileges, and his 
constant exposure to the contaminating influences 
of vicious associates. Probably no class of men 
are exposed to so numerous and great temptations, 
as sailors, and nothing but firm and good princi- 
ples, and well-established habits of virtue, can be 
expected to resist them. 

I have thus endeavored to point out some of 
the dangers of indulging an uneasy, roving, ro- 
mantic spirit. It was in this spirit that origina- 
ted all the disasters that befell the prodigal son, in 
the Bible ; and the fatal results of the same dis- 
position are daily witnessed in our own day, and 
our own neighborhoods. I would, therefore, urge 
my young readers to cherish a love of home. Do 
not allow yourselves to be deceived into the idea 
that there is any place on earth where men are 
exempt from the common ills of flesh ; where la- 
bor is not required, and where money and ease 
may be had for the asking. The old Spanish 
voyagers sought long for such a clime, but they 
never found it. Home is our true earthly para- 
dise. 

" Mid pleasure8 and palaces though we may roam, 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." 



THE LOVE OF HOME. 



229 



It should be the shield, the castle of the young, 
protecting them from temptation, and giving their 
habits the right direction, at a period of life when 
these kind offices are most needed. 

Some lads, who show no disposition to wander 
off to distant places, nevertheless evince a disrel- 
ish for home, by lounging away their leisure hours 
in the street, or around the village store, hotel, 
livery stable, or other places of common resort. 
This is a bad habit, especially when indulged af- 
ter nightfall. Besides the neglect of home which 
it induces, it throws the boy into great temptation. 
The " evening street school" has demoralized and 
ruined many a promising lad. The quiet and in- 
nocent pleasures of the family circle first lose 
their attraction, and then the descent to ruin is 
rapid and easy. The youth learns to listen 
with delight to the indecent jest, the ribald song, 
the vulgar story. The blasphemous oath no long- 
er chills the blood as it once did, and insensibly 
he begins to imitate the profaneness of his elders 
in sin. He becomes insolent, disorderly and law- 
less in his bearing. He joins his associates in 
planning and executing schemes of mischief, and 
so faithful is he in learning his evil lessons, that 
soon none of them can surpass him in deeds of 
daring wickedness. In short, he is a young but 

20 



2S0 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



thoroughly hardened villain, fully ripe for crime 
and the prison. 

The above is not a fancy sketch — it is a true 
picture of the downward course of thousands of 
boys. In a neighboring city, a short time since, 
it was discovered that a large company of boys, 
many of them sons of respectable parents, had 
been engaged in a series of robberies, and their 
downward career was traced to the habit they had 
formed of spending their evenings in the streets, in 
company with idlers, loafers, and vicious men and 
boys. In another city, it was lately ascertained 
that a gang of boys, who were accustomed to idle 
away their time in the street, had formed a band 
which they called the "Forty Thieves," and sever- 
al of their number were arrested in a cellar, into 
which they had broken, for the purpose of supply- 
ing themselves with wines and other liquors. Da- 
vid exempted from his benediction the man who 
" standeth in the way of sinners," Ps. 1 : 1 ; and 
no youth who accustoms himself to this habit, will 
long remain uncontaminated by his associates. 
But this subject leads us to a topic which can be 
better treated in a separate chapter. 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 231 



CHAPTER XX. 

COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 

We are social beings — Influence of associates — Ennobling 
power of virtuous friendships — Testimony of Chateau- 
briand and Lord Clarendon — Danger of evil associates — 
A bad boy's advice — He aims to make others as bad as 
himself — Will soil a pure mind, if he cannot spoil it — A 
father's lesson — If you mingle with the bad, you must take 
their fare — Incident in the early life of a rogue — Innocent 
persons killed in mobs — A decision of the Police Court — 
Danger of being wronged by unprincipled associates — 
Samson — Most persons made openly vicious by associa- 
ting with vice — Illustration from Jewish history — A warn- 
ing to boys — What friends to choose — Delights of a pure 
friendship — Intimate friends — Make confidants of your 
parents — Be faithful to your friends — Brummell in adver- 
sity — David and Jonathan — Damon and Pythias. 

God has made us social beings. He did not de- 
sign that we should be hermits, and dwell in sol- 
itude, but has implanted within us earnest cravings 
for friends and companions. This law of our na- 
tures we cannot annul, but we can turn it into a 
means of vast good or evil to ourselves. Those 
whom we choose to be our friends and associates, 



232 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



must inevitably exert a great influence upon us. 
It may be silent and imperceptible, but we cannot 
escape its force. We not only manifest our own 
characters, by the choice we make, but we also 
imitate their habits and manners, and grow into 
their image, and thus become either better or 
worse, according to the character of our associ- 
ates. This fact is so well understood, that the 
maxim, " A man is known by the company he 
keeps," passes current the world over. 

The purifying and ennobling influence of vir- 
tuous friendships, may be made a powerful instru- 
ment in assisting us to form good habits. It will 
be better for you to be perfectly intimate with 
one person of eminent goodness, than to be ac- 
quainted with all the princes of Europe. The 
holiest men that have lived upon earth, were in- 
debted for their attainments to intimate and con- 
stant communion with God, the author of all 
goodness, and this is but a higher exemplification 
of the law of which I am speaking. When the 
celebrated French statesman and poet, Chateau- 
briand, visited America, in 1791, he had a single 
interview with Washington, and in recurring to this 
event, he many years afterwards exclaims, ''There 
was a virtue in the very presence of that great 
man that has warmed my soul to goodness for the 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 



233 



remainder of my life !" Lord Clarendon attribu- 
ted his success and happiness in life, to associa- 
ting with persons more learned and virtuous than 
himself. This illustrates one of the proverbs of 
Solomon, " He that walketh with wise men, shall 
be wise." Prov. 13 : 20. 

But there is another clause to the proverb just 
quoted. " He that walketh with wise men, shall 
be wise : hut a companion of fools shall he de- 
stroyed" The young are not always sensible of 
the clanger of choosing their associates among the 
vile, the unprincipled, or the ill-behaved. " Evil 
communications corrupt good manners," says Paul, 
1 Cor. 15 : 33. And again he says, " A little leav- 
en," whether good or evil, " leaveneth the whole 
lump." Gal. 5:9. A single bad boy will some- 
times contaminate the youth of a whole neighbor- 
hood, if permitted to associate with them. His 
vices are the " little leaven," which quickly spreads 
through " the whole lump," like a contagious dis- 
ease. 

A lady once saw her little son in company with 
a very bad boy, and on calling him away, she over- 
heard the larger boy saying to him — " Don't you 
go, Bill — what do you care for your mother? I 
wouldn't be such a fool as that. Come along — 
don't mind what she says." This little incident 

20* 



234 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



illustrates a general law to which I desire to call 
your attention, viz., a bad boy always tries to 
make others as bad as himself. When Solomon 
warns us to avoid the haunts of the wicked, he 
gives as a reason, " For they sleep not, except 
they have done mischief ; and their sleep is taken 
away, unless they cause some to fall." Prov. 4 : 
16. When, therefore, you know a lad to be vic- 
iously inclined, be very cautious how you place 
yourself within the circle of his influence. If you 
give him a chance, he will draw you with him- 
self into the fatal vortex of ruin. Men like to 
have companions with them in sin ; no man wishes 
to travel the road to death alone. 

Bad companionships usually soil and stain the 
heart, even when they do not actually corrupt it. 
An intimacy with a profane boy, for instance, 
though you might not imitate him so far as to 
swear, would inevitably diminish the feeling of 
horror which an oath now awakens in your soul. 
So, were you to associate with those who love lewd 
and vulgar conversation, you would certainly lose 
something of the purity of your mind, though 
you might never become addicted to the use of 
vile language. I have read a German allegory 
which finely illustrates this principle. A certain 
father, we are told, would not allow even his 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 



235 



grown up children to associate with those whose 
conduct was not pure and upright. " Dear father, 5 ' 
said his daughter to him one day, when the com- 
pany of a frivolous companion was forbidden to 
them, " you must think us very childish, if you 
imagine that we should be exposed to danger by 
it." The father took in silence a dead coal from 
the hearth, and reached it to his daughter. " It 
will not burn you, my child, take it." She did 
so, and behold ! her delicate white hand was soiled 
and blackened, and as it chanced her white dress 
also, " We cannot be too careful in handling 
coals," said the daughter, in vexation. " Yes, 
truly," said her father ; " you see, my child, that 
coals, even if they do not burn, blacken. So it 
is with the company of the vicious." 

Again, if you will mingle familiarly with bad 
companions, you must run the risk of being mis- 
taken for a person of the same sort. You will 
be judged by the company you keep, and may 
thus be held accountable for some sins which you 
never committed. A lad of sixteen, in Cincin- 
nati, who was laboring industriously and saving 
his earnings, happened to become acquainted with 
a bad set of boys, who visited a ten-pin alley, 
and who soon persuaded him to frequent the same 
resort of vice. In a little while, this youth be- 



236 



TUE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



came so entirely drawn into this circle of bad 
boys, that he spent all his leisure time, and even 
his Sabbaths, in their company. One morning, a 
stranger inquired of him concerning the different 
places of amusement in the city, and he took him 
to the ten-pin alley to which he was accustomed 
to resort. Here they engaged in bowling, during 
which they were both cheated out of what money 
they had by a swindling game common at such 
places, the stranger losing twenty-five dollars, and 
the lad two dollars. After he had detected the 
fraud, the stranger tried in vain to get his money 
back, and at length went to the mayor's office, and 
related his story. The city marshal went to look 
into the matter, and on the stranger pointing out 
the youth who led him into trouble, the officer 
remembered that he had seen him in company 
with some notoriously bad boys, the day before ; 
so he arrested him, and he was fined and sent to 
jail, where he spent several months, in company 
with criminals of every grade. When he came 
forth from prison, he was not only friendless and 
penniless, but a confirmed rogue, and he subse- 
quently became a notorious gambler. Thus, by 
being found in bad company, he not only suffered 
for an offence of which he was innocent, but was 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 



237 



thrown among associates who rapidly completed 
the ruin of his character. 

It is not safe to mingle with the vicious and 
disorderly, even as listeners or spectators. In 
mobs, it has often been remarked that the great- 
est sufferers are innocent persons. In the out- 
break in Paris, in 1851, hundreds of idle specta- 
tors were shot down, while comparatively few of 
the insurgents were harmed. In the Police Court 
of Boston, not long since, two small boys were 
arraigned for throwing snow-balls at another lad. 
The testimony did not prove that either of them 
actually threw any snow-balls at the complainant, 
but it was shown that they both had snow-balls in 
their hands, and were in the crowd of boys who 
did throw the missiles. The Court ruled that each 
boy who countenanced the act complained of, 
either by word or action, was accountable for the 
acts of the whole, and therefore the defendants 
were accountable for the assault, and were fined 
accordingly. This is a common principle in law, 
and it shows the danger of being found in bad 
company. 

Another evil resulting from bad associates is, that 
they will wrong and abuse, if they do not corrupt 
you. This was illustrated in the case of the Cincin- 
nati boy just referred to, who was himself cheated 



238 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



by his bad companions, as well as punished for 
their crimes. When Lot settled in the wicked 
city of Sodom, he perhaps thought he could avoid 
all danger by not associating with the people ; but 
he was grossly insulted by them, and barely 
escaped from their fury with his life. Samson 
chose for a friend and confidant a wicked woman, 
of the enemies of Israel, who punished his folly 
by grossly deceiving and betraying him. If you 
go into the company of thieves, you have need to 
keep watch over your pocket, as well as your 
heart. When the wicked cannot seduce those 
who fall within the circle of their influence, they 
can usually find some other way to inflict an 
injury upon them. 

But, while one now and then gets off from bad 
associates with only a few stains, or with merely 
being mistaken for them, or cheated by them, it 
cannot be denied that the great majority are 
made openly vicious by such influences. Only 
persons of firm principle and great self-command, 
can mingle with the vicious without being con- 
taminated by their example. Seldom is it that a 
youth can safely pass through so trying a test. 
You will remember that when the Israelites 
entered the promised land, the Lord repeatedly 
and carefully warned them to avoid all inter- 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 



239 



course and mixture with the pagan inhabitants of 
that and the surrounding territory. The reason 
of this was, that God wished to spare them the 
temptation of evil example ; but the wise injunc- 
tion was not fully obeyed, and the people in con- 
sequence fell into sin, and in time learned to 
imitate all the abominations of the heathen with 
whom they associated. The Jews, in this instance, 
set at defiance a well-known law of our natures, 
and they suffered the penalty. 

We see the same fool-hardy experiment going 
on daily around us, with the same sad results. 
This is peculiarly the danger of boys, and I would 
most earnestly warn every reader against it. Do 
not keep company with a youth who is addicted 
to any bad habit. Reclaim him if you can ; but 
should your efforts prove unavailing, renounce his 
society. The fact is well established, that the 
mere reading of the account of some roguish or 
criminal act will sometimes incite a person to 
imitate the offence. But how much more powerful 
for evil are the living presence and example of 
the wrong doer ! Truly the wise man was never 
more wise than when he said, referring to the way 
of evil men, " Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from 
it, and pass away." Prov. 4 : 15. 

In selecting your friends and associates, do not 



240 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



seek out the sons of rich, fashionable or proud 
families, but rather choose the intelligent, the 
modest, the gentle, and the well-behaved. A 
friendship based only on wealth, or gentility, is a 
broken staff, which will fail when most needed. 
True friendship yields one of the purest of earthly 
enjoyments. Says Dr. Young, who has some 
fine thoughts on this subject, 

" As bees mixed nectar draw from fragrant flowers, 
So men from friendship, wisdom and delight. 
* * * * * * 
A friend is worth all hazards we can run ; 
Poor is the friendless master of a world ; 
A world in purchase for a friend is gain." 

But recollect this is true friendship. The same 
writer has said, with much truth, 

" A foe to God was ne'er true friend to man ; 
Some sinister intent taints all he does, 
And in his kindest actions he's unkind." 

You need something more than acquaintances, 
associates and companions — something better than 
a mere Pilate-and-Herod friendship. Your heart 
yearns for intimate and sympathising friends, to 
whom you can speak of joys and sorrows which 
you hide from the world, and in whose love you 



COMPANIONS AND FRIENDS. 241 



can find a perpetual delight and solace. These 
should be sought, first, in your own family. Let 
the relations between yourself and your brothers 
and sisters be of this tender and beautiful nature, 
so far as possible. Make confidants of your 
parents, and do not give to strangers a confidence 
which you refuse to them. Submit, also, to their 
advice, in relation to the choice of friends. They 
are more experienced and sagacious than you, and 
are better qualified to say who it is proper for 
you to associate with. 

Finally, if you would have friends, — true and 
warm friends,— you must yourself be a faithful 
friend. " A man that hath friends, must show 
himself friendly." Prov. 18 : 24. Never forsake 
those who have given you their friendship, except 
in obedience to your conscience. Should they 
swerve from the path of duty and rectitude, you 
cannot follow them ; but when they fall into 
adversity, you should cling to them more firmly 

> and tenderly than ever. Adversity is the test of 
friendship. You have seen, in a previous chapter, 
how the profligate Beau Brummell was courted 
by the gay, the rich and the noble in the days of 

> his triumph ; but when poverty and sickness 
came, not one of these false friends came to min- 
ister to his wants. He could not even command 

21 



242 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



the necessary influence to gain admission to a 
private asylum, but died in a public lunatic insti- 
tution, indebted to an English traveler for the 
few comforts of his last days. How different 
from this was the friendship of David and Jona- 
than, and of Damon and Pythias ! We are 
repeatedly told that Jonathan loved David, " as 
he loved his own soul ; " and the love of David 
was equally strong, as manifested in his beautiful 
and pathetic lamentation over the death of Jona- 
than, and his kind treatment of Mephibosheth, 
his friend's son. The story of Damon and Pythias, 
as related by Plutarch, is too long to be told 
here, and I can only refer to it as a remarkable 
instance of pure and strong friendship. Such 
examples are too rare, but they are not beyond 
our imitation. 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 243 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 

Childish fondness for amusements — The place they should 
hold in the minds of a youth — Duties first, recreation 
afterward — Living for pleasure — Sardanapalus — An infa- 
mous life, and a miserable death — A rule for the choice of 
amusements — Hurtful amusements — Time-killers — Gam- 
bling — The theatre — Unlawful amusements — Dangerous 
sports — Cruel sports — Amusements should be cheap and 
simple — The Prince of Wales' miniature frigate — The 
emperor who offered a reward for a new pleasure — The 
penaltjr of over-indulgence — Useful recreations — Learning 
to handle tools — Studies in the natural sciences — Collect- 
ing cabinets — The whirlpool of dissipation. 

A fondness for amusement is common to youth, 
the world over. Almost the first thing the infant 
learns to do, is to amuse itself ; and a large por- 
tion of the earlier years of childhood is devoted 
to sports and play. This is natural and right, 
and there is nothing to be said in condemnation 
of it. But you for whom these pages are designed, 
have reached an age when amusements should 
take a much lower place in your thoughts and 



244 THE boy's own guide. < 

arrangements than they do in those of the little 
child. You are beginning to " put away childish 
things," and this childish love of amusements 
should be among the qualities thus discarded. 

Let me not be misunderstood; you are not 
called to give up all recreation and amusement, 
but merely to give these things their right posi- 
tion in your daily arrangements. If a love of 
sport is uppermost in your mind, it must come 
down, or you can never be a true man. Duty 
first, and amusement afterward. As rest comes 
after labor, so must our diversions come after and 
be subject to our duties. Indeed, the meaning of 
the word recreation, as defined by Webster, is, 

Refreshment of the strength and spirits after 
toil" Pursued to excess, or indulged without an 
aim, it is hurtful, but when it is used moderately, 
and for the purpose of recruiting and refreshing 
the weary body or mind after active labors, it is 
eminently happy in its effects. In other words, it 
may be safely used as a servant, but must not be t 
allowed to become a master ; it is valuable when 
judiciously used as a means, but is fatally de- 
structive when allowed to become an end or object 
of life. " He that loveth pleasure," says Solo- 
mon, " shall be a poor man." Prov. 21 : 17. And 
this means not only poor in purse, but in character, 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 



245 



in reputation, in influence, in wisdom, in hopes, 
in happiness, in every thing that is deemed desir- 
able by men. We cannot see an immortal soul 
cast away its exalted privileges, and adopt the 
gay and idle life of the butterfly, without feeling 
some degree of contempt for it. The man who 
exists merely to amuse himself, had better never 
been born. 

The life and death of Sardanapalus, the last of 
the Assyrian kings, furnishes one of the most 
melancholy illustrations of the truth of this latter 
remark, that is to be found in history. Abandon- 
ing every duty, he devoted himself unceasingly to 
pleasures of the most infamous kind. Gathering 
around himself a company of women, he dressed 
and painted himself like them, and copied their 
manners, employments and amusements, " neither 
understanding nor doing any other thing than 
spinning, eating and drinking, and wallowing in 
all manner of infamous pleasure." " Eat, drink, 
and be merry; every thing else is nothing," was 
the inscription on his statue, after his death, and 
one more appropriate could not have been se- 
lected. And what was the result of a life thus 
miserably perverted ? Just what it should have 
been. A conspiracy was formed by several sub- 
ordinate governors, who were incensed at the 

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246 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



effeminate life led by their king ; Nineveh, the 
city in which he dwelt, was captured, and Sar- 
clanapalus, gathering together in his palace his 
eunuchs, his women and his treasures, set fire to 
the edifice, and thus consumed in one flame him- 
self and the instruments of his guilty pleasures. 
Nor was this the end, for the great Assyrian em- 
pire, which had existed nearly fifteen hundred 
years, fell to pieces, on his death. Thus his 
inordinate love of pleasure not only proved his 
own ruin, but terminated the existence of a once 
powerful kingdom. 

In warning you against excess in amusements, I 
have thus far alluded only to those kinds of 
recreation which are innocent in their natures. 
But there are other kinds that are hurtful, dan- 
gerous, and of evil tendency, even when indulged 
in moderately and occasionally. We must, there- 
fore, not only see that our amusements come in at 
the right time and place, but we must also be 
careful to select only such as are harmless. It 
would be impossible for me to specify all the 
methods of recreation which would be safe and 
appropriate for youth of your age, but I can give 
you a rule which will help each to decide for him- 
self in regard to what is right and proper. This 
rule is, — choose only those amusements which 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 247 



tend (1) to improve the heart, (2) to enlarge the 
mind, or (3) to strengthen the body. Music, for 
instance, may be made to do the first, by calming 
the passions and elevating the affections; trav- 
eling, reading, visiting museums of curiosities and 
works of art, &c, have a tendency to accomplish 
the second ; and walking, skating, riding, and 
similar active recreations, secure the third benefit 
named above. 

The rule above given will of course lead you 
to abstain entirely from all amusements that tend 
to injure the soul, mind, or body. Under this 
head should be classed all mere time-kitti?ig plea- 
sures. I have hesitated whether to use the words 
amusement and pastime at all, in this chapter, for 
fear of being misunderstood. The definition of 
the word recreation has been already given. In 
the other words above named, we have a melan- 
choly evidence of the abuse of the law of our 
being which requires rest and refreshment. The 
word amusement is from the French s'anmser, 
which means to loiter, to idle, to kill time ; and 
pastime is literally pass time, meaning very much 
the same thing. I hardly need say, that this is 
not the sense in which I use these words. It is 
very doubtful whether that kind of pleasure which 
consists in merely killing time, and trifling away 



248 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



the precious moments of life, can ever be inno- 
cent, after we have reached the age of reason and 
reflection. Let us, then, avoid all amusements 
which have for their object the whiling away of 
time, or the mere production of pleasure, without 
regard to any real good. 

In the list of forbidden amusements we must 
also include all kinds of gambling — a species of 
amusement so dangerous to the young, and yet so 
common, that I have deemed it necessary to 
devote a separate chapter to its consideration. 

The theatre is of a kindred nature, and this, 
too, will be noticed more at length in another 
place. 

In the same list should also be included all 
amusements which are contrary to laic. In large 
towns and cities, the public good requires that 
many sports should be prohibited by law, which 
are allowed in more retired places. 

All dangerous sports, and especially those 
involving the use of fire-arms or powder, should 
likewise be avoided. Could the annual sacrifice 
of life made by the boys of this country to pow- 
der be summed up, the result would be appalling : 
and should we add the sum total of torn limbs, 
and bruised flesh, and mutilated faces, of those 
who survive these accidents, the picture would be 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 



249 



too sickening to contemplate. Swimming, or 
rather bathing, is another favorite amusement 
with boys, but it must be included among the 
dangerous. I presume at least one or two hun- 
dred American lads are drowned every summer, 
while bathing in deep waters, in consequence of 
venturing beyond their depth before they have 
learned to swim. This suggests the necessity of 
great caution in bathing, and the importance of 
being accompanied by those that are able to 
swini. 

Lastly, our rule will require us to abstain from 
all cruel sports — such as are attended by suffer- 
ing, whether brute or human. A noble mind 
will not desire to amuse itself by inflicting pain 
upon others, even upon the humblest of God's 
creatures. We are permitted to take the life of 
beasts for food, and other useful purposes, but we 
ought not to do it merely for amusement, or with- 
out any definite object. 

It has already been stated, that the object of 
our recreations is to relax and refresh the mind 
and body, after labor. As this end can as well 
be secured by simple and inexpensive amusements, 
as by costly ones, these last should be avoided. 
The enjoyment and benefit we derive from a plea- 
sure does not depend upon the sum of money it 



250 



THE boy's own guide. 



costs. The eldest son of the Queen of England, 
— a lad of some dozen years — amuses himself 
with a beautiful miniature frigate-of-war, which is 
manned by a crew of boys of his own age, of whom 
he is the commander ; and on a pleasant day, his 
ship, fully rigged and equipped likje a perfect 
frigate, may be seen sailing around the Serpentine 
lake, and performing the various evolutions of 
naval vessels. But though the young Prince of 
Wales is provided with such a costly toy, I 
doubt whether he is really any happier than many 
lads who are indulged only with those simple 
amusements which are within the reach of all. 
It is not uncommon for those who are surrounded 
with every means of enjoyment that wealth can 
furnish, to lose all relish for their pleasures, and 
sigh for something more. The emperor Tiberius, 
having exhausted all known sources of amusement, 
offered a reward to any one who would invent a 
new pleasure. As the stomach soon cloys with 
rich food, so does the mind with expensive and 
elaborate amusements. Let no lad, then, who is 
born to poverty, envy the pampered and over-in- 
dulged children of wealth. They are no happier 
than you, and, besides, are less likely to grow up 
into hardy and useful men. 

The notion is common among the young, that 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 251 



recreation is to be found only in plays, sports, 
games, &c., or in visiting places expressly designed 
for amusement. But this is entirely wrong. 
Some of our best recreations, both for body and 
mind, partake of the character of labor, either 
mental or physical. I have known boys who, 
after laboring all day in their workshops, amused 
themselves in the evening with reading, writing, 
or studying. Now those employments were really 
recreations, and were the more valuable because 
useful. I have known other boys, who, after 
studying at school and at home six or eight hours, 
sought recreation at a work-bench, and thus not 
only relaxed their minds and body, but accus- 
tomed themselves to the use of tools, acquired 
much valuable practical knowledge, and construct- 
ed various useful articles. Do you not suppose 
that those two school-boys mentioned in Chapter 
X., who manufactured a complete miniature steam 
engine in their leisure hours, found as much real 
amusement and satisfaction in their work, as the 
Prince of Wales experiences in walking the deck 
of his little craft ? But perhaps I may have done 
injustice in this comparison to the latter personage. 
There may be utility, even in his costly toy- 
frigate ; for if he is intending to follow a nautical 
life, as is probably the case, he is in reality 



252 



THE BOY ? S OWN GUIDE. 



mingling study with, his recreation, and is taking 
his first lessons in his profession, though in rather 
an expensive fray; 

I cannot enumerate all the ways in which our 
recreations may be turned to a good account, but 
will suggest to those who live in the country the 
out-door study of ornithology, (birds,) entomology, 
(insects,) mineralogy, botany, kc. With a good 
text-book for a guide, an occasional leisure hour 
may be spent very profitably and pleasantly, in 
collecting specimens, and studying the rudiments 
of either of these branches of knowledge. " There 
are very few," says a writer on this subject, " who 
do not in a short number of years, spend time 
enough in amusements which bear no lasting good, 
to collect no despicable cabinet. The preservation 
of plants, birds, animals and insects is very easy, 
and there is no one who desires instruction in the 
manner of proceeding, who cannot readily obtain 
it. "We have seen cabinets worth, many hundred 
dollars collected by devoting the leisure hours 
which are ordinarily suffered to run to waste, or 
employed in less interesting amusements." 

In conclusion, let me earnestly warn every 
youth against all amusements of an immoral and 
dissipating nature. Take no part or lot in them. 
Sad and brief is the common history of those who 



AMUSEMENTS AND RECREATIONS. 253 

trifle with this danger. The youth launches his 
little bark into the deceptive sea of pleasure. He 
slowly sails around the whirlpool, and around 
again, and is intoxicated with delight. But each 
circuit brings him nearer to the vortex ; his face 
is flushed with unnatural excitement, and his 
course becomes more rapid and rough ; yet he 
thinks not of danger. At length we see him 
whirled round and round with fearful rapidity ; 
he becomes bewildered ; he reaches the vortex ; 
he cries for help ; but it is too late — he disappears 
— he is lost. Who of us is wise enough to profit 
by his folly ? 

-22 



254 the boy's own guide. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 

MISCHIEYOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 

Unpleasant subjects — Definition of mischievousness— A street 
incident — Outrages not practical jokes — Danger of indulg- 
ing a mischievous propensity — A fatal act of sport — Fire- 
crackers — The mask — A sad reflection — Doing wrong 
thoughtlessly does not clear us of guilt — Planning mischief 
deliberately — A wicked trick — A good trick — The rowdy 
described — Young imitators — Disturbing meetings— A 
common evil. 

Mischieyousness — Rowdyism— these are rough 
and ugly-looking words, full of unpleasant sugges- 
tions, which we would rather pass by than linger 
over. I am sorry that I must use them, — especial- 
ly the last, — in a book addressed to lads ; but I 
am reminded almost daily, by the sight of young 
mischief-makers and rowdies, that a few words of 
caution in regard to these bad habits will not be 
unnecessary. 

The word mischieYousness, in its general sense, 
— the sense in which I shall use it, — signifies a 
disposition to do harm, or to vex or annoy others. 
This definition agrees with a passage in the Bible, 



MISCHIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 255 



where it is said, " He that deviseth to do evil 
shall be called a mischievous person." Prov. 24:8. 
An incident that occurred not long since in Bos- 
ton, will illustrate the meaning of the word, and 
throw some light upon the thing that is meant to 
be signified. Early one evening, as a young 
Italian was playing upon a musical instrument 
called a hurdy-gurdy, in one of the public streets, 
two young fellows came along, and after pausing 
a moment before the musician, one of them sud- 
denly tripped up the poor man, causing him to 
fall upon his instrument, splitting it into a hun- 
dred fragments. Both of the young men imme- 
diately fled, on perceiving the mischief they had 
done, doubtless much pleased with their adven- 
ture. The poor Italian, on the other hand, burst 
into tears, at the sight of his musical instrument ; 
for it was not only his sole means of obtaining a 
livelihood, but it was hired, and, of course, he 
must remunerate the owner for its loss. 

Here, then, we have what might very properly 
be termed an act of mischievousness. Look at it 
closely, examine it from every side, and then tell 
ne if it was any thing less than a cruel, wanton 
aid malicious outrage upon an unoffending man. 
I, for one, can make nothing else of it. Perhaps 
the author of this dastardly act, would say, " Sir, 



256 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



you are altogether too severe ; it was all clone in 
sport j no harm was intended ; it was only a prac- 
tical joke." But who has given you leave to do 
evil in fun ? What right have you to amuse 
yourself at the expense of others ? If you may 
knock a man down in a joke, at the risk of his 
personal injury, and to the imminent danger of 
his means of obtaining a livelihood, why may not 
another, who is fond of fires, apply the torch to 
your house, and then, while your property is in 
flames, assure you that it was only done in fun, 
and to gratify a favorite passion ? It seems to 
me argument is hardly needed here. The very 
essence of mischievousness is a desire to injure, 
vex or annoy others ; and it is pretty evident that 
this desire can never be indulged, even in sport, as 
it is termed, without sin. " Do not they err that 
devise evil ?" Prov. 14: 22. They certainly do, 
and it is a poor excuse to say that no harm was 
intended. A thousand pleas of this kind will not 
heal the wound, or repair the damage, or satisfy 
the injured sufferer. W e may therefore conclude, 
with Solomon, that " It is as sport, to a fool" 
(but not to a wise man,) "to do mischief." Prov. 
10: 23. 

The indulgence of a mischievous propensity is 
not only wrong, but is often followed by the sid- 



MISCHIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM, 



257 



dest results. We have no right to sport with 
danger, and none but the thoughtless or the fool- 
hardy will attempt it. On the last fourth of July, 
a company of boys in a village in New York 
were amusing themselves with fire-crackers, when 
a wagon containing a young gentleman and lady 
happened to pass them. One of the lads, for the 
mere " fan of the thing," I suppose, threw a 
bunch of the dangerous explosives under the 
horse's feet. The frightened animal became un- 
manageable, and ran away, throwing the riders 
from the wagon, one of whom was taken up dead, 
and the other dangerously injured. What a grief 
will that thoughtless boy carry in his heart to the 
grave, in consequence of that one little act ! God 
may blot out his sin, and the friends of the injured 
parties may forgive him ; but if he is a pure- 
hearted and sensitive boy, he will never forgive 
himself for that day's mischief. Who of you all 
would be willing to assume the guilt and the sor- 
row of that deed ? And yet I have seen lads 
practice the same mischievous trick many a 
time, exposing others to instant death, and them= 
selves to a life of sorrow and regret,— and all for 
a momentary gratification ! 

The numerous accidents, both to person and 
property, which result every year from fire-crack- 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



ers, ought to persuade lads to give up the use cf 
those dangerous articles. In New York, during 
the last celebration of Independence, four differ- 
ent houses were set on fire by crackers, injuring, 
more or less, ten buildings. One of the most 
destructive fires that ever occurred in Boston, 
originated in the same manner. 

In England, a year or two ago, a poor laboring- 
woman sent two little children to do an errand, 
the youngest of whom was about four years of 
age, and the other a few years older. On their 
way, they were met by a boy with a hideous 
mask over his face, who, seeing that the children 
were frightened, turned and ran after them, re- 
peating some gibberish, which served to increase 
their alarm. The pursuit was kept up until the 
poor little children reached their home, pale and 
trembling, when they told the story of the* dread- 
ful object they supposed they had seen. From 
the shock they received that day, neither of them 
ever recovered. Their health declined daily, and 
in a few weeks they both died, constantly moan- 
ing in the delirium of death, of the frightful ob- 
ject that occasioned all their suffering. Perhaps 
the boy who wore that mask, was not at heart a 
bad boy, and had no thought of injuring any 
one ; but he must carry with him through life the 



MISCHIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 259 



bitter consciousness that he has sacrificed two in- 
nocent children to his love of mischief. How true 
it is, that " He that seeketh mischief, it shall 
come unto him." Prov. 11: 27. 

It may be said that the acts of mischievousness 
to which I have referred, were committed thought- 
lessly and heedlessly, and are not to be blamed 
as though they were done deliberately, and with 
malice. This is true ; but while this fact lessens 
the guilt of the several acts, it by no means makes 
them innocent. We have no right to do wrong, 
even carelessly and thoughtlessly. • Were a man 
to walk in the crowded streets of a city with his 
eyes willfully shut, he would be held responsible 
for any mischief that might ensue, and it would 
not avail him to say he could not see. The facul- 
ties of reason and reflection are the eyes of the 
mind, and we should not act with them closed. 
In our courts, men are often punished for crimes 
committed in a moment of passion, or in a fit of 
drunkenness, or without thought. 

Another bad feature in the habit we are speak- 
ing of, is, that it hardens the hearts of those who 
indulge in it. The step is very short and natural 
from engaging in mischief thoughtlessly, to plan- 
ning it deliberately, and with a malicious pur- 
pose. One cold morning last winter, a large boy, 



260 



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who was doubtless too fond of a " practical joke," 
was seen at work upon the ice of a pond on which 
smaller lads were in the habit of skating. He 
was sawing the ice into small blocks, but allowed 
them to remain in their places, thus making the 
surface appear perfectly safe. His object in do- 
ing so was easily guessed at, and he was taken 
into custody by the City Marshal, when he ac- 
knowledged he was sawing out traps to catch the 
other boys in, and give them a cold bath ! Here 
you see something more than a mere thoughtless 
and hasty act. An evil purpose is deliberately 
formed and executed. The boy who set those 
dangerous traps, must have had some malice in his 
heart ; and had any of the skaters fallen into 
these holes, and lost their lives, I think he might 
have been justly charged with their murder; nor 
would the law have allowed him to plead that it 
was only a joke. 

The following little anonymous story suggests 
so excellent a substitute for all tricks and jokes 
of the kind we have been considering, that I can- 
not forego the temptation to insert it here. A 
young student, it is said, was once walking with 
his teacher, when they happened to espy a pair 
of old shoes lying in their path, which they sup- 
posed to belong to a poor man who was at work 



MISCIIIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 261 



close by, and who had nearly finished his day's 
labor. The young man turned to his instructor, 
saying : " Let us play the man a trick : we will 
hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind 
these bushes, and watch to see his perplexity 
when he cannot find them." " My dear friend," 
answered the other, " we must never amuse our- 
selves at the expense of the poor. But you are 
rich, and you may give yourself a much greater 
pleasure. Put a dollar into each shoe, and then 
we will hide ourselves." The student did so, and 
then placed himself with the teacher behind the 
bushes close by, through which they could easily 
watch the laborer, and see whatever wonder or 
joy he might express. 

The poor man soon finished his work, and 
came across the field to the path, where he had 
left his coat and shoes. While he put on his 
coat, he slipped one foot into one of his shoes ; 
but feeling something hard, he stooped down and 
found the dollar. Astonishment and wonder 
were seen on his countenance ; he gazed upon the 
dollar, turned it round, and looked again and 
again ; then he looked round him on all sides, 
but he could see no one. Now he put the money 
in his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other 
shoe ; but how great was his astonishment when 



262 



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he found the other dollar ! His feelings over- 
came him ; he fell upon his knees, looked up to 
heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, 
in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, 
and his children, without bread, whom this time- 
ly bounty, from some unknown hand, would save 
from perishing. The young man stood there 
deeply affected, and tears filled his eyes. "Now," 
said the teacher, "are you not much better pleased 
than if you had played your intended trick ?" 
" 0, dearest sir," answered the youth, " you have 
taught me a lesson now that I will never forget. 
I feel now the truth of the words which I never 
before understood : ' It is better to give than to 
receive.' " 

Who would not prefer a " trick " of this kind, 
to all the mischievous jokes ever planned by 
youthful ingenuity ? Let us remember that it is 
as easy to get up a pleasant little surprise for 
those we love, as it is to play a foolish and cruel 
joke upon them. 

Rowdyism is nothing but mischievousness 
of a more abandoned sort. The word is of 
American origin, and I fear that the thing which 
it signifies is more common in this country than 
in some others. The rowdy is a riotous, turbu- 
lent fellow, who loses no opportunity to annoy 



MISCHIEVOUSNESS AND ROWDYISM. 263 



peaceable people. He is usually to be found in 
the streets, which he walks with a swaggering 
gait, or at the doors of bar-rooms, or other places 
of common resort. You may know him by his 
flashy dress, his filthy cigar and tobacco, his al- 
coholic breath, his impudent leer, his shameless 
countenance, and his coarse, profane language. 
He is generally present at the evening lecture, 
concert, exhibition, and even at the religious 
meeting ; not to listen or to see, however, but to 
disturb those who do go for this purpose. In a 
word, he is without decency ; he glories in his 
shame ; he is a brutal ruffian. 

I have seen many youth of twelve or fifteen 
years, who would answer in all respects to this 
offensive portraiture ; and in almost every town, 
there is a class of disorderly boys, who, if they 
are not already thorough rowdies, are becoming 
such as fast as they can. I here refer particu- 
larly to those lads who are in the habit of creat- 
ing disturbances in public meetings. This is a 
sure mark of rowdyism, and a sad trait in the 
character of any boy. A gentleman, on returning 
home from a public exhibition, a short time 
since, found his apparel covered with spittle and 
chewed articles which had been showered upon 
him by a party of ill-bred boys in the gallery. 



264 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



I have often heard persons complain, after at- 
tending public addresses and concerts, that the 
entertainment was entirely spoiled by the pres- 
ence of a gang of boj& in some remote corner of 
the hall, who evidently attended for the purpose 
of disturbing others. Such things are a disgrace 
to a civilized community, and I trust no reader 
of this book will ever countenance them. There 
is little hope for a youth, who is so lost to de- 
cency and self-respect as to be willing to make 
himself a pest and a nuisance, for his own selfish 
amusement. 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 



265 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 

A tyrant of thirteen — The school-boy tyrant — A recollection 
of boyhood — Turkish boys — A domineering spirit — Samu- 
el and Adin — Oppression wrong — Cowardly — The charac- 
ter of Nelson, Taylor, Washington, Murat, and Josephine 
— Nothing gained by tyranny — The cruel king and his 
just punishment — How to treat inferiors in age, strength, 
&c. — Domestics and workmen — The steamer and the sig- 
nal — Standing upon your rights. 

One of the most blood-thirsty of the race of ty- 
rants who have reigned over Russia, was named 
Ivan. He commenced his reign when a boy of 
thirteen, and one of his first acts was to assemble 
those who had carried on the affairs of govern- 
ment during his childhood, for the purpose of in- 
forming them that he needed not their guidance, 
and would no longer submit to their encroach- 
ments on his royal prerogative. " I ought to 
punish you all," he said, " for all of you have 
been guilty of offences against my person ; but I 
will be indulgent, and the weight of my anger 
shall fall on Andrew Schusky, who is the worst 

23 



266 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



amongst you." Schusky, the head of a family, 
who had seized the reins of government during 
the Czar's minority, endeavored to justify him- 
self. Ivan would not hear him. " Seize and 
bind him,"' cried the despot, u and throw him to 
my dogs. They have a right to the repast." A 
pack of ferocious hounds, which Ivan took pleas- 
ure in rearing, were brought under the window, 
and irritated by every possible means. When 
they were sufficiently exhausted, Andrew Schusky 
was thrown amongst them. His cries increased 
their fury, and his body was torn to shreds and 
devoured. 

You will not be surprised to know that this 
boy became a great tyrant. When you read in 
history of the cruel acts of such men, does your 
blood boil with resentment, and do your eyes 
moisten with pity for the poor victims of their 
oppression ? This is a generous and noble feel- 
ing ; but are you quite sure that in condemning 
Xero, and Herod, and Ivan, you do not also con- 
demn yourself? Does the suggestion astonish 
you ? Then you have yet to learn that a man or 
a boy may play the despot to perfection without 
being a king. Look around among the larger 
lads of your neighborhood, and see if you cannot 
select from among them at least one, who always 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 267 



insists upon having his own way, because he is 
larger or stronger than his associates. In the 
family, the younger children must render the 
same obedience to him as to their parents; in the 
school, he exercises scarcely less authority than 
the teacher ; and on the play-ground, he is a per- 
fect autocrat. Everywhere he acts on that 

■ " old-fashioned plan, 

That they shall take who have the power, 
And they shall keep who can." 

Looking back to my boyhood, I can remember 
that there were many of these young tyrants in 
the town where I lived. They would " pick 
upon " and oppress those who were weaker than 
themselves, without the slightest provocation. 
They rejoiced in their strength to do evil ; as 
though the hard fists and the strong sinews that 
God had given them, were intended to be used 
in knocking down instead of assisting their weak- 
er and younger associates. They never thought 
of the injunction of Paul, " We, then, that are 
strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, 
and not to please ourselves." Rom. 15 : 1. 
Thus they earned for themselves the ill-will of 
the young and -the contempt of the old, by their 
domineering, overbearing manners ; and when the 



268 



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time came for them to leave school, no regrets or 
good-wishes followed them. 

A lady who has traveled in Turkey, says the 
most hateful and disgusting class of persons she 
ever met with, were Turkish children of wealthy 
families. The reason of this, is, that they have 
no masters, but run about free from all restraint, 
" giving orders to their mothers, lessons to their 
grandmothers, cuffs to their sisters, and kicks to 
the servants." Young female slaves are presented 
to the boys, and are often treated with cruelty. 
The lady alluded to says : — " I have seen the 
two boys of a renowned Pacha, one nine years 
old and the other five, followed all over the ha- 
rem by a dozen such unhappy girls, still more 
unhappy than their grown-up companions, whilst 
the elder, a very intelligent fellow, explained to 
me, half in speech and half in pantomime, that 
they were his and his brother's, and they could 
do what they liked with them. During this ex- 
planation, the younger illustrated his brother's 
saying by kicking and pinching most cruelly two 
or three of his miserable dependents, who were 
manifestly afraid to let their tears run down their 
cheeks." Who would wish to have this cruel 
Turkish custom transferred into our own country ? 
Such instances of youthful tyranny are seldom 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 



269 



witnessed in Christian lands ; but yet there is 
among our youth too much of a domineering 
spirit, which differs from the above rather in de- 
gree than in nature. The young Turkish tyrants 
this lady describes are really less guilty than 
some of our own ; for their cruelty is the direct 
result of the neglect and folly of their parents, 
while that of the American child is usually with- 
out this excuse. 

In a certain town are two boys of nearly the 
same age, each the oldest of a family of children ; 
but as opposite in dispositions as you can easily 
conceive. Samuel is the tyrant of his family. 
His little brothers and sisters always run when 
they see him coming, and hide their playthings 
as quickly as possible when they hear his noisy 
and lawless footsteps. If he passes them by 
without pinching their ears, or pulling their hair, 
or breaking their playthings, they think them- 
selves fortunate. He insists that as he is the 
oldest, he must be obeyed, and so he often obliges 
them to do little favors for himself which he real- 
ly has no right to demand. Is it strange that 
none of the children love him ? Adin, on the 
other hand, is a very different boy. He, too, is 
the oldest of his brothers and sisters, but he never 
thought this a reason for making; them fear him 

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and wait upon him, like so many slaves. He is 
always welcomed with delight to their little cir- 
cle, for he directs and assists them in their sports, 
and often denies himself the pleasure of playing 
with his older associates, for their sakes. All 
their little doubts and disputes are carried to him 
for settlement, and no one is so ready as he to 
help them out of a difficulty. Is it strange that 
they love their older brother, and are proud of 
him, and always ready to do him a favor when it 
is in their power ? 

This habit of tyrannizing over weaker persons 
is wrong, mean, and short-sighted. That it is 
wrong, every conscience must admit ; and were it 
possible to silence conscience, the word of God 
would still thunder forth its rebukes against 
those who are guilty of this sin. The rights of 
those who are inferior to us in age, strength, wis- 
dom, or social position, are as precious and sa- 
cred, in the sight of God, as our own. If we 
trample on those rights, because we are older and 
more powerful than they, God will not permit the 
act to escape his notice. "He shall judge the 
poor of the people, he shall save the children of 
the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppress- 
or." Ps. 72 : 4. The principle is the same 
among boys as among men. The lad who wan- 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT, 



271 



tonly breaks up the innocent sports of his younger 
companions, compelling them to do services for 
him which he has no right to demand, and kick- 
ing and cuffing them for no reason at all, is as 
truly an oppressor as Pharaoh was when he com- 
manded the Israelites to make bricks without 
straw. Let such remember that "He that is 
higher than the highest regardeth." Eccl. 5 : 8. 

It is a mean as well as wicked habit. Those 
who are guilty of it usually make a great show of 
courage, but they are cowards at heart. Cruelty 
and injustice seldom dwell in the same breast 
with courage. None but a small and mean soul 
will take advantage of the weakness and mis- 
fortunes of others. It is said that the brave 
Lord Nelson could scarcely endure to see the 
punishment of the lash inflicted upon his men, 
and often forgave the culprit as soon as he began 
to call for mercy. You all remember with what 
sorrow Washington signed the death-warrant of 
Andre. Gen. Taylor owed much of his populari- 
ty to this same gentleness of heart, which led him 
to shrink from the infliction of all unnecessary 
pain. Murat, one of the bravest of Napoleon's 
marshals, is said by Lamartine to have made the 
following singular confession to an intimate 
friend : — " My sweetest consolation when I look 



272 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



back on my career as a soldier, a general, and a 
king, is, that I never saw a man fall dead by my 
hand. It is not of course impossible that in so 
many charges, some pistol shots fired at random, 
may have wounded or killed an enemy, but I have 
known nothing of the matter — if a man fell dead 
before me by my hand, his image would be always 
present to my view, and would pursue me to the 
tomb." Josephine, the wife of Napoleon, was 
able to say upon her death-bed, " I can say with 
truth to all of you now present at my last mo- 
ments, that the first wife of Napoleon never 
caused a single tear to flow." I will leave my 
readers to contrast this noble reluctance to inflict 
pain, with the cowardly meanness of those who 
are always tyrannizing over the weak. 

But those who indulge in petty tyrannies are 
short-sighted, as well as mean and wicked. They 
seldom gain any thing but hatred and resentment, 
by the course they pursue. There was once a 
king who cut off the thumbs and great toes of 
seventy other kings, and made them gather their 
meat under his table. He lived long enough to 
suffer the same cruel treatment, and to say, " As 
I have done, so God hath requited me." Judges 
1: 7. It has become a proverb, that " tyrants 
rarely die natural deaths." Justice seldom fails 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 



273 



to overtake them, even in this world. This is 
equally true of those who play the despot on a 
small scale. They provoke the revenge of those 
whom they injure, and all their malice recoils upon 
themselves. " Surely oppression maketh a wise 
man mad." Eccl. 7: 7. 

Let the young, then, endeavor to treat those 
who are inferior to them in age, strength, know- 
ledge, or in any other respect, with kindness, 
gentleness and forbearance. Avoid all appear- 
ance of an overbearing, domineering spirit. Re- 
spect their rights and feelings, and strive to win 
their confidence and love, rather than secure their 
dislike. It is true, there are certain things in 
which the younger should yield the precedence to 
their elders ; but if this is withheld, it is not worth 
quarreling about. You really possess no authori- 
ty over your younger brothers and sisters, and if 
you would retain the respect and deference to 
which your age entitles you, you must do it by 
kindness. You will find it easier to persuade 
than to drive them. As the oldest, try to set 
them a better example. This you will find a 
much wiser, better and pleasanter course, than 
any attempt to enact the tyrant over them. 

You should also be careful, in your intercourse 
with domestics or workmen in the employ of your 



274 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



parents, not to exhibit an overbearing, lordly, 
dictatorial spirit. Xever order or command them 
to do a tiling, for there is hardly any habit more 
offensive in the young than this. Ask them re- 
spectfully to do Trhat you desire, but do not re- 
quest them to do for you what you can as well do 
yourself, unless you are ambitious to become as 
useless and helpless as possible. 

A steamer was once sailing in the night through 
a deep and narrow river, when the pilot espied a 
light ahead, directly in the channel. He sup- 
posed it to be the signal of some small vessel, 
which had very imprudently anchored itself in the 
narrow course of the steamer, and his first impulse 
was to keep straight on, without regard to it. As 
the steamer neared the light a voice was heard, 
crying, "Keep off! keep off!" and after a mo- 
mentary struggle with his feelings, the pilot 
changed his course, and passed around the signal 
light, not, however, without pouring out a torrent 
of imprecations upon the crew of the supposed 
craft. What were his feelings, after he reached 
a landing-place, when he was informed that a 
huge stone had separated from the mountain sum- 
mit, which hung over the margin of the river, and 
lodged directly in the channel ; and that the light 
he had seen and the voice of warning he had so 



AN OVERBEARING SPIRIT. 



275 



reluctantly obeyed, proceeded, not from a care- 
lessly anchored vessel, but from a sentinel sta- 
tioned at the point of danger to ^ave his steamer 
and its living burden from instant destruction ! 

Can the lesson which this incident teaches need 
any explanation ? Think of it, my young friend, 
when you are tempted to " stand upon your 
rights," and to " run down" those who you think 
have needlessly crossed your path. Possibly 
they may be wrong ; but before you determine to 
crush them, reflect whether you may not at the 
same time crush yourself. 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



CHAPTEE XXI V. 

PRIDE AND SHAME. 

A disagreeable burden — Explanation of terras — Pride or 
shame on account of looks and dress — Of social rank — Of 
attainments — Of business — Labor honorable — The cierk 
and the plough-boy — Too proud to carry bundles — Amos 
Lawrence and his bundle — Franklin and his wheelbarrow 
— Pride and shame of fashion — Fashion a tyrant — Its re- 
quirements in different countries — Wicked customs to be 
resisted — Braving ridicule — Pride on account of good 
conduct — Jehu's boasting — The Bible rule — The noble but 
modest sailor — Ashamed of being boys — Humility heaven's 
gateway — Love of approbation — Self-respect. 

How many of tlie vexations and sorrows of life 
spring from these two emotions — pride and shame ! 
Most uncomfortable feelings are they to carry 
about in one's heart, and yet thousands of unhap- 
py people seem to take up the burden, and groan 
beneath it all their days, as though there were no 
way to escape it. And, indeed, it is no easy mat- 
ter to get rid of the load, when it is once fairly 
upon one's shoulders ; and for this reason I am 
the more anxious to secure my readers against it, 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



277 



while they are yet young, and probably compara- 
tively free from it. 

The kind of pride of which I shall speak in this 
chapter, is that inordinate self-esteem, or conceit 
of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, 
accomplishments, rank, &c, which manifests itself 
in lofty airs, reserve, and often in contempt and 
insolence towards others. The shame referred to, 
as the opposite of pride, is that sense of disgrace 
which is sometimes experienced in consequence of 
poverty, or an absence of beauty, talents, rank, 
&c. We ought to be ashamed when we do a 
wrong act : but we never should hang our heads 
with this feeling in consequence of any thing which 
we cannot alter or prevent. "Why should a man 
be ashamed of what he cannot help ? 

Let us notice some of the things in regard to 
which these emotions are most frequently exer- 
cised. 

The first things of which the young learn to be 
proud or ashamed, are, their looks and dress. As 
these topics have been already enlarged upon in 
the chapter on " Personal Appearance," I shall 
let them pass, with this simple allusion. 

Social rank is often the occasion of pride or 
shame, even among boys. One is proud of a dis- 
tinguished ancestor; and another boasts of the 

24 



278 the boy's own guide. 



respectability, wealth and influence of his father's 
family. Some poor lad listens to their vain boast- 
ings, and makes himself as foolish as they are, by 
trying to conceal the fact that he never heard of 
his ancestors, or that his father is an humble and 
unknown laborer. All this is wrong. What 
credit is it to you, that your ancestor, a hundred 
years ago, was a learned or respected man ? or 
that your father has acquired wealth, or fame, or 
influence ? These are pleasant things to know, 
and you may admire the examples and honor the 
virtues of your family, but you must not be vain 
of them, or think yourself any better than other 
lads, merely on this account. Nor, on the other 
hand, should any youth of obscure origin think 
the less of himself because of the humble rank of 
his family. God made us all of one family. 
Francis I., king of France, once asked the learned 
Bishop of Orleans if he was a gentleman, meaning, 
of gentle or noble blood. " Sire," was the pre- 
late's reply, " in the ark of Noah there were 
three brothers — I cannot tell from which of them 
I am descended." The institutions of our country 
permit of no hereditary rank or titles, and it is 
anti-republican to cherish a respect for these mere 
accidents of birth. 

The young are often proud of their attainments 



PKIDE AND SHAME. 



279 



in knowledge. This is sometimes true of those 
who are esteemed the best scholars in our schools 
and academies. But when you see a person vain 
of his knowledge, you have the best possible proof 
that he possesses only a little. The more we 
learn, the more do we discover of which we are 
ignorant ; and consequently, the more humble 
shall we be. Sir Isaac Newton was profoundly 
learned, but towards the close of his life, he re- 
marked that he had only picked up a few pebbles 
upon the shore, while the great ocean of knowl- 
edge rolled before him, untouched. If any of 
my readers are disposed to boast how much they 
know, it must be that they have a very faint idea 
of the vast unexplored field which they have not 
yet entered. 

Many are also proud or ashamed of the employ- 
ments in which they engage. Some boys are too 
proud to become mechanics ; they prefer to be 
clerks in stores, or to study for some profession, 
because they think these last more respectable 
employments. Some are even too proud to labor 
in any way, and so they grow up in idleness, in- 
gloriously living on the means of their parents, 
when they are old enough and strong enough to 
provide for themselves. This is pride of the most 
contemptible kind. We ought to seek those call- 



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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



ings for which we are best qualified by nature, but 
let no one suppose that it is less honorable to 
work with the hands than with the head. Some are 
peculiarly fitted for mechanical pursuits ; others 
will succeed best on the farm ; others, still, have 
a natural bent for a mercantile life, or for a pro- 
fession. All these departments of labor are use- 
ful and honorable, and from all of them, men rise 
to eminence and influence. It is the man that 
gives dignity to the profession ; and not the pro- 
fession to the man. The lad who labors in the 
field, the work-shop, or the factory, is really en- 
gaged in as respectable and important a calling 
as the young midshipman in the navy, or the clerk 
in the merchant's ware-house, or the student in 
the lawyer's or doctor's office. 

"Honor and shame from no condition rise ; 
Act well ycnr part, there all the honor lies." 

Hon. Freeman Hunt, the editor of the " Mer- 
chants' Magazine," has given some good advice 
on this subject. " The young man," he says, 
" who leaves the farm-field for the merchant's 
desk, or the lawyer's or doctor's office, thinking to 
dignify or ennoble his toil, makes a sad mistake. 
He passes by that step, from independence to 
vassalage. He barters a natural for an artificial 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



281 



pursuit, and he must be the slave of the caprice 
of customers and the chicane of trade, either to 
support himself or acquire a fortune. The more 
artificial a man's pursuit, the more debasing is it 
morally and physically. To test it, contrast the 
merchant's clerk with the plough-boy. The 
former may have the most exterior polish, but 
the latter, under his rough outside, possesses the 
truer stamina. He is the freer, franker, happier and 
nobler man. Would that young men might judge 
of the dignity of labor by its usefulness and manli- 
ness, rather than by the superficial glosses it wears. 
Therefore we never see a man's nobility in his 
kid gloves and toilette adornments, but in that 
sinewy arm, whose outlines, browned by the sun, 
betoken a hardy, honest toiler, under whose 
farmer's or mechanic's vest, the kingliest heart 
may beat." This, you will bear in mind, is not 
the testimony of a farmer or mechanic, but of one 
whose life is devoted to the interests of the mer- 
cantile profession, and who perfectly understands 
the evils and dangers connected with it. 

This foolish kind of pride is sometimes carried 
to such a height, that you will occasionally find 
boys of fourteen or sixteen years, who are too 
proud to be seen carrying a bundle, and too nice 
to assist in washing the store windows, or in any 

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other of the dirty jobs which it is now and then 
necessary to perform, in every establishment. — 
Such boys have none of the genuine metal in them, 
they are but base alloy, with all their pride. No 
boy of real sterling worth could so belittle him- 
self in the eyes of others. "About fifty years 
ago," said a recent lecturer, " a young man with 
limited capital commenced business in the city of 
Boston, and was obliged to employ a single clerk, 
on a small salary. A lady called at his store one 
day, and made some purchases which she wished 
delivered at her residence. The merchant re- 
quested his clerk to deliver the bundle as required. 
He declined ; and the merchant immediately took 
the bundle and delivered it as directed. The clerk 
never was worth a hundred dollars in his life; 
the merchant was Amos Lawrence — now a mil- 
lionaire." This incident reminds me of the exam- 
ple of Franklin, who, when he first established 
himself in business in Philadelphia, was not 
ashamed to carry home the paper which he pur- 
chased for his printing office, upon a wheelbar- 
row, with his own hands. I have seen young men, 
not near so old as Dr. Franklin was at that time, 
who would think themselves insulted, should they 
be requested to give a practical imitation of his 
example in this respect. 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



283 



There is another kind of pride, which leads 
some to fall in with every fashion and custom 
which happens to prevail. They are too proud to 
be considered out of fashion — they are ashamed 
not to do as others do. "We ought to respect those 
prevailing customs which are not objectionable in 
their nature or tendency, and as a general rule, 
it is best to conform to them. But we ought never 
to become the blind slaves of fashion. She is a 
tyrant, and plays strange tricks. In the island 
of Samoa, a boy no sooner reaches his sixteenth 
year, than he must be tattooed. If he neglects 
the rite, he is constantly taunted and ridiculed, 
and is not allowed to speak in the society of men. 
To be manly and respectable, therefore? he must 
be tattooed. In China, fashion causes the parents 
to compress the feet of their female children into 
such narrow limits, that they become almost use- 
less, for walking ; and if they neglect to perform 
this operation, their children are considered mean 
and low-bred. Fashion compels the Malay to 
stain his teeth black, and the Esquimaux to wear 
bits of stone stuffed through a hole in each cheek. 
Is it not possible that some of the customs which 
fashion imposes upon us, are injurious and absurd ? 
If so we need not be ashamed to renounce them. 

But if a fashion or custom is plainly contrary 



284 



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to duty, beware how you sanction it. Do not be 
ashamed to bear ridicule and reproach, when they 
result from resistance to sin. There are places in 
our country where public opinion stamps it as cow- 
ardly for a gentleman to refuse to fight a duel, if 
challenged ; and many a man has sanctioned this 
wicked custom, because he was too proud or too 
cowardly to resist public sentiment, even when he 
knew it to be barbarous and criminal. Some of 
you, when you go forth from your fathers' roofs, 
may find your lot cast in a community where 
public sentiment sanctions card-playing, or dram- 
drinking, or Sabbath-breaking. While all your 
associates and neighbors addict themselves to 
these vices, you cannot abstain from them without 
appearing singular and unfashionable. Pride, or 
false shame, will whisper in your ear the wick- 
ed maxim, " When you are in Home, do as the 
Romans do; " but conscience replies, " Xo, what 
is wrong in one place is wrong in another, no 
matter what custom or fashion may say to the con- 
trary." Should you ever be placed in this position, 
be sure that the voice of conscience, and not of 
pride, is obeyed. 

Sidney Smith has given some excellent advice 
on this subject. "Learn from your earliest 
days," he says, " to inure your principles against 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



285 



the perils of ridicule ; you can no more exercise 
your reason if you live in the constant dread of 
laughter, than you can enjoy your life if you are 
in the constant dread of death. If you think it 
right to differ from the times, or to make a stand 
for any valuable point of morals, do it, however 
rustic, however antiquated, however pedantic it 
may appear ; do it, not for insolence, but seriously 
and grandly, — as a man who wore a soul of his 
own in his bosom, and did not wait till it was 
breathed into him by the breath of fashion." 

Again, we ought not to be proud of our good 
qualities and correct deportment ; nor even of the 
generous and noble deeds we may perform. A 
consciousness that we are doing our duty, or mak- 
ing sacrifices for the good of others, will inspire 
us with self-respect ; but this is quite a different 
thing from pride, as defined at the commencement 
of this chapter. I will not stop to explain this 
now, but shall recur to the subject of self-respect 
again. When we hear a person boast of his good 
qualities, we naturally suspect his virtue. " Gome 
with me, and see my zeal for the Lord," said Jehu. 
2 Ki. 10 : 16. Jehu did have zeal, and was 
used by the Lord as a scourge to the house of 
Ahab ; but he was tyrannical and ambitious, and at 
length his boasted zeal for the Lord so far died 



286 



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away, that he fell into idolatrous practices. That 
virtue which sounds its own praise, may flourish 
for an hour, but it is not deeply rooted in princi- 
ple. " Let another man praise thee," says Solo- 
mon, " and not thine own mouth ; a stranger, and 
not thine own lips." Prov. 27 : 2. Our Saviour 
rebuked the Pharisees for doing good deeds "that 
they might have glory of men," and gave them 
that most important rule, " Let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand cloeth." Mat. 6 : 2,3. 

During the great fire which laid waste a large 
portion of New York in 1835, a mother was seen 
in the streets frantically shrieking for her babe, 
which had been left in the upper story of a build- 
ing enveloped in flames. A young sailor heard 
the mother's voice, rushed through the flames, and 
in a few moments returned with the child in his 
arms, gave it to its mother, and in an instant dis- 
appeared. The noble act was recorded in the pa- 
pers of the day, and an attempt was made to as- 
certain the unknown sailor's name, but without 
avail. In the words of a poet who celebrated the 
heroic feat in verse, 

" Not for the praise of man 

Did he this deed of love ; 
But on the bright, unfading page, 

'Tis registered above." s j 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



287 



Five years after, a young man in the last stages of 
consumption, disclosed the fact on his death-bed 
that he was the hero of that fearful night, and 
that the cold which brought on his disease was 
contracted at the time he rescued that child from 
the flames. That young man, who so beautifully 
illustrated the command of our Saviour just quo- 
ted, was William H. Eixdge, of Portsmouth, ]S T . 
H. He was but eighteen years of age when he 
not only periled his own life to save that of the 
child, but, taking the deed as its own reward, 
modestly consigned the precious secret to his own 
bosom. Thus we shall ever find, that the truly 
noble, brave and generous, are always modest and 
unassuming. 

There is but one other kind of pride of which 
I shall speak. It is not a rare thing, in large 
towns and cities, to find boys who are actually 
ashamed of being boys ! They scarcely enter their 
teens, before they assume the airs, manners and 
dress of men, and they resent it as an affront, if 
they are addressed as children. The folly of 
such is almost too glaring to need a grave reproof- 
I will only say, that I do not think it a disgrace 
to be a boy ; and I trust my readers will not 
think I respect them any the less, because I have 



288 



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not addressed them as "young gentlemen," rather 
than boys. 

Such are some of the kinds of pride and shame 
most common among the young. It must be ev- 
ident to all, that these feelings are foolish and 
sinful, and can dwell only in weak minds. Hu- 
mility is the gateway of heaven, and all who 
enter that blessed world must stoop, and leave be- 
hind their bundle of pride. " Every one that 
is proud in heart, is an abomination to the 
Lord." Prov. 16 : 5. " God resisteth the proud, 
but giveth grace unto the humble." Jas. 4: 6. 
" Thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou 
mayest bring them down." 2 Sam. 22 : 28. "The 
Lord will destroy the house of the proud." Prov. 
15 : 25. " Pride goeth before destruction, and 
a haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16 : 18. 
" Whosoever shall exalt himself, shall be abased." 
Matt. 23 : 12. So uniformly are these declara- 
tions of Holy Writ fulfilled, that the saying, 
" Pride must have a fall," has passed into a com- 
mon proverb. 

" The tower that highest rears its head, 
With heaviest ruin falls." 

But while you aim to avoid pride, be careful 
that you do not go to the other extreme, and be- 



PRIDE AND SHAME. 



289 



come wholly indifferent to the opinion of others. 
God has implanted the love of approbation in our 
hearts, for wise ends. When it is not abused, it 
becomes a strong safeguard of virtue. It has 
been said with truth, that he is not far from ruin 
who can say without blushing, " I don't care what 
others think of me," You should always cherish 
a feeling of self-respect. But, associated with 
this love of approbation, and this self-respect, 
there should likewise be modesty and humility — • 
than which no ornament sets more sweetly upon 
the young. The self-respect to which I refer, is 
very different from pride. It springs from a just 
consciousness of the wonderful powers God has 
conferred upon us, and of the exalted destiny to 
which we may aspire. Without self-respect, we 
should be little better than the brutes. " It is 
not necessary," remarks the author of the " Man- 
ual of Morals," "that we should be rich, or that 
we should occupy a high station, in order to be 
entitled to our own self-respect. The wood-sawyer r 
the washer-woman, and those boys and girls who 
get their living by doing errands, if they perform 
faithfully and well what they undertake, and en- 
deavor to improve their minds as much as their 
condition allows, have a right to respect them- 
selves as highly as though they were not obliged 

25 



290 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE, 



to labor for their own support." This sentiment, 
under the control of a modest, unassuming dispo- 
sition, gives a charm to the character of the young, 
which is as attractive as pride is repulsive. Who 
will not resolve to wear " the ornament of a meek 
and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of 
great price ? " 1 Pet. 3 : 4. 



TEMPER. 



291 



CHAPTER XXV. 

TEMPER. 

The Bible has much to say about temper — Sulkiness — Rob- 
ert the sulky boy— Self-tormenting — Fretfulness — The two 
gardeners — Quarrelsomeness — Temptations of the young — 
Quarreling wrong and foolish — Illustration from Ameri- 
can history — A foolish law suit — Dangerous results — Quar- 
relsome boys — Anger — A sin — Does no good — Punishes it- 
self—Byron's confession — Dreadful results of anger — Must 
be subdued at the commencement — Several methods of 
conquering passion — Revenge — Scriptural commands — 
Indian notions of revenge — A boy's revenge of his father's 
murder — Revenge blind and cruel — Another boy's revenge 
— Absalom — Obstructing railroad tracks — Forgiveness — 
Examples — A bad temper unfits us for the duties of life — 
The school-boy in a passion— Natural temperaments — 
They may be modified — Cyrus, Socrates and Washing- 
ton — The Quakers — A sad spectacle. 

Since I took up my pen to commence this chap- 
ter, I have run my eye over some Scripture pre- 
cepts on this subject, and have been struck with 
the frequent allusions which are made in the Bi- 
ble to the tempers of men. This is especially 
true of the New Testament, where on almost every 



292 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



page we find inculcated the duties of forbearance, 
meekness, patience, forgiveness and gentleness, 
coupled with warnings against angry, quarrelsome 
and revengeful feelings. These are the virtues 
or vices which are meant when we speak of a good 
or a bad temper ; and the prominence which is 
given to them in the word of God, shows that 
this is a subject of great importance to us all. 
This chapter opens to us an extensive field ; but 
the limits of this book will allow me only to point 
out briefly some of the more common faults of 
temper, by way of warning. 

1. Sultriness. — This is a species of ill-temper 
with which you are all familiar. We see persons 
afflicted with it, almost every day — and a sad 
affliction it is, too, both to themselves and to their 
neighbors. There is Robert — for instance — a 
good boy, in many respects, but once in a while 
he has a desperate fit of the sulks, which nearly 
if not quite balances the credit side of his charac- 
ter, and leaves him with more demerits than mer- 
its. So long as he can have his own way, every 
thing goes on pleasantly, but let his father inter- 
fere with some plan he has formed, or set him 
about some job he does not like, and you will 
soon find out what his temper is. For hours af- 
ter, perhaps for a day or two, he is surly, morose 



TEMPER. 



293 



and gloomy. He says but little, but when lie 
speaks, he snaps and growls like an angry wolf. 
He pouts, scowls and looks sour at every body, 
friends as well as foes ; and should you attempt 
to reason kindly with him on his folly, he grows 
more obstinately sullen than ever. Do you ask 
what good all this does ? I do not know. There 
certainly can be no pleasure in thus punishing 
one's self; on the contrary, he greatly aggravates 
his disappointment. A cheerful, sprightly tem- 
per makes its possessor happy ; but a sulky one 
can only render its owner wretched. The lad 
I have described indulges only occasionally in 
these fits ; but there is danger that this sullen 
state of mind will after a while become perma- 
nent with him, if he does not soon break himself 
of the habit. He is gradually souring his dispo- 
sition, and the habit is growing upon him. It will 
be well if he does not turn out in the end a mere 
Nabal — the churl whose character is described in 
1 Sam. 25. 

2. Fretfulness. — A cross, peevish, fretful, fault- 
finding temper should also be guarded against by 
the young. This habit, like sulkiness, waxes worse 
and worse, until the person addicted to it scolds 
and frets continually, and without perceiving it. 

25* 



294 the boy's own guide. 



" Thus teasing others, always teased, 
His only pleasure is, to be displeased." 

You should therefore set jour face against this 
habit at once. If you have a disagreeable duty 
to discharge, the pleasantest and easiest way is to 
discharge it cheerfully and with alacrity. Fret- 
ting, grumbling and muttering will only make 
matters worse. So, if you meet with a disap- 
pointment or mischance, do not stop to fret about 
it. An instructive incident is related of two 
gardeners who were neighbors, and who had their 
crops of early peas killed by the frost. One of 
them came to condole with the other. " Ah ! " 
cried he, " how unfortunate ! Do you know, neigh- 
bor, I have done nothing but fret ever since ? But, 
bless me, you seem to have a fine crop coming up ; 
what sort are they? " " Why, these I sowed im- 
mediately after my loss." " What ! coming up 
already ! " said the fretter. " Yes," replied the 
other ; " while you were fretting, I was working." 
It is always a mark of weakness and folly to fret. 
Let us endeavor to give heed to David's injunc- 
tion, " Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." 
Ps. 37 : 8. 

8. Quarrelsomeness. — It is a curious fact that 
our word quarrel is derived from a Latin word, 
which means merely complaint. In the rude 



TEMPEK. 



295 



period of English history, a man who had cause 
to complain, was probably pretty sure to quarrel 
about his grievances, and thus, in time, the words 
came to mean the same thing. So we find, at the 
present day, that a fault-finding, fretful temper 
often leads one into a quarrel. The world is fall 
of strifes, contentions and quarrels. They array 
nation against nation, community against commu- 
nity, and man against his brother man. The 
young are especially addicted to this vice, and 
need to be earnestly cautioned against it. It is 
true, there are many temptations to quarrel, 
which tTiey find it hard to resist. Even if they 
are peaceably disposed, they will frequently meet 
with rude boys, who pride themselves on their 
fighting qualities, and who are always ready to 
" pick a quarrel" with any weaker lad who will 
suffer himself to be drawn into their net. But, 
however strong the provocation may be, let it be 
remembered that it is wrong to quarrel. The 
Bible abounds with precepts, enjoining a peace- 
able spirit. Its language is, " Seek peace, and 
pursue it ;" " love the truth and peace ;" " live 
peaceably with all men ; " " follow after the 
things which make for peace ;" " follow peace 
with all men ; " " blessed are the peace-mak- 
ers," &c. 



296 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



This habit is foolish as well as sinful. It 
seldom mends a bad matter to quarrel about it — 
usually it makes it worse. In 1812, a dispute 
arose between the United States and Great Brit- 
ain, which led our country to declare war against 
the latter power. The war was continued about 
two years and a half ; millions of money were ex- 
pended, and thousands of lives sacrificed ; and 
yet after all, when the treaty of peace was signed, 
not a word was said about the points in dispute 
which led to the war. How much better would it 
have been for both nations, had they submitted 
their differences to two or three calm, wise and 
impartial men, selected from each country, and 
left them to award justice to both parties ! The 
same principle applies to individuals. Two men 
who had quarreled about the ownership of a calf, 
valued at three dollars, went to law to settle their 
dispute, and expended some six or seven hundred 
dollars before the case was decided. Such in- 
stances of folly are not uncommon, even among 
the young, who sometimes sacrifice a great deal 
of peace, good- will and enjoyment, for the sake of 
quarreling about some trifle that is really not 
worthy of a thought. To such I would commend 
this little remark of Bishop Hall : — " I have ever 
found," he says, " that to strive with my superior 



TEMPER. 



297 



is ruinous ; with my equal, doubtful ; with my 
inferior, sordid and base; with any, full of un- 

quietness." 

I ought also to say a word about the dangerous 
results of quarreling. We cannot quarrel with- 
out getting more or less angry ; and when angry, 
we are liable to do things which we will very 
much regret, in our calm moments. On this 
point, however, more will be said directly. 

There are some boys who always have a quarrel 
on hand. To-day they are "mad" with John; 
tomorrow they have a falling out with George ; 
the next day they are offended with Thomas ; and 
the day following they are not on speaking terms 
with James. Thus it goes, through the whole 
list of their acquaintances. Some of these quar- 
relsome people quickly get over their resentment, 
while others retain it and nurse it a great while. 
In either case, it is a very bad habit, and should 
be subdued in early life. Let the young remem- 
ber that it is much easier to get into a quarrel, 
than to get out of one. When you are tempted 
to plunge into a dispute, read the beautiful de- 
scription of the manner in which the strife 
between the herdsmen of Abraham and Lot was 
settled, recounted in Gen. 13 : 7 — 9. Strive so 
to act that it may be truly said of you, 



298 THE boy's own guide. 



" His heart no broken friendships sting, 
No storms his peaceful tent invade ; 
He rests beneath the Almighty's wing, 
Hostile to none, of none afraid.' ' 

4. Anger. — This is another fault of temper 
which must be earnestly struggled against. Noth- 
ing is more natural to the human heart than to 
be angry with those who displease us ; but never- 
theless, it is wrong. " Be not hasty in thy spirit 
to be angry ; for anger resteth in the bosom of 
fools." Ec. 7:9. " He that is slow to anger, is 
better than the mighty." Prov. 16 : 32. " Cease 
from anger and forsake wrath." Ps. 37 : 8. Many 
other passages in the Bible condemn this sin, but 
as this is a point which none will dispute, I will 
not enlarge upon it. 

As was said of quarreling, so may be said of 
anger — it does no good. It only makes a bad 
matter worse. " A wrathful man stirreth up 
strife." Prov. 15 : 18. If a provocation has 
been offered you, before you fly into a passion 
remember the old proverb, " If thou art vexed, 
thou wilt have two troubles." A wise man once 
observed, " If I am angry, I punish myself for 
the faults of another and there is much good 
sense in the remark. I doubt whether even the 
most irritable man really enjoys a fit of anger. It 



TEMPER. 



299 



is at best a painful passion. In fact, the literal 
meaning of the word anger, is pain, anguish, grief, 
&c. An irritable man has been happily compared 
to " a hedgehog rolled up the wrong way, tor- 
menting himself with his prickles." The sting of 
a single fit of passion sometimes lasts for years. 
Soon after Lord Byron commenced writing poetry, 
he was sharply criticised by the Edinburgh Re- 
view, which so excited his anger, that he pub- 
lished a bitter satire, in which he held almost all 
the prominent writers of the day up to ridicule. 
Many years after, in writing to one of the poets 
whom he had unjustly abused, he made the follow- 
ing confession respecting this famous satire : — 
" I can only say that it was written when I was 
very young and very angry, and has been a thorn 
in my side ever since ; more particularly as almost 
all the persons animadverted upon became sub- 
sequently my friends ; which is heaping coals of 
fire upon an enemy's head, and forgiving me too 
readily to permit me to forgive myself." 

The dreadful results which often ensue from 
fits of anger, furnish another reason why we 
should shun it. A man was once at work over a 
kettle of melted lead, when a few drops of water 
accidentally fell into it, and caused an explosion 
which sent the burning metal all over his face 



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TIIE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



and breast. A single angry word, falling into an 
inflamed heart, will sometimes occasion an explo- 
sion even more terrible than this. Thus it is that 
anger and murder are often so nearly allied. 
Where there are no angry words, there are sel- 
dom any angry blows; but with the passionate 
man it is a " word and a blow." It is therefore 
well to avoid associating, as far as possible, with 
those who are given to sudden fits of passion. 
Solomon says, " Make no friendship with an 
angry man ; and with a furious man thou shalt 
not go." Prov. 22 : 2-4. 

If any of my readers are guilty in this matter, 
and desire to break themselves of so unfortunate 
a habit, I would advise them to be very careful 
of the beginnings of anger. There are always 
some signs of the rising tempest, and if you . are 
watchful, you can subdue it before it overmasters 
you. A man who was naturally of a very vio- 
lent temper, overcame it by carefully avoiding 
loud language. People in a passion always speak 
loud, and by cultivating mildness and sweetness 
of tone, we greatly fortify ourselves against out- 
bursts of anger. Zimmerman recommended a 
passionate man to repeat the Lord's Prayer, 
whenever he felt inclined to be angry — an excel- 
lent prescription, which all may safely follow. 



TEMPER. 



301 



A pious man, whose besetting sin was anger, 
adopted the practice of entering in a book a 
record of every fit of passion into which he was 
tempted, with its causes, circumstances, and 
effects. The result was as he expected. The 
entries into this book, which were at first daily, 
soon began to grow less frequent, until at length 
but one or two would be found in the whole pro- 
gress of a year. The habit was thus effectually 
cured. 

5. Revenge. — Angry feelings, cherished in the 
heart, beget that black, malignant passion, which 
we call revenge. Indeed, revenge may be defined 
as anger full blown, and it is even more wicked 
and dangerous than the sin we have just been 
considering. The Bible everywhere condemns it. 
" Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge 
against the children of thy people, but thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself." Lev. 19 : 18. Here 
we see it is wrong even to bear a grudge against 
another. How many of us can say we never violated 
that command ? Again, it is said, " Recompense to 
no man evil for evil. Dearly beloved, avenge 
not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath." 
Rom. 12: 17, 19. "Not rendering evil for evil, 
or railing for railing : but contrariwise, bless- 
ing." 1 Pet. 3 : 9. Our Saviour spoke most 

26 



302 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



emphatically on this subject, when he told the 
Jews that they must no longer act on the old 
proverb, " An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a 
tooth." " Ye have heard," he says, " that it 
hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and 
hate thine enemy : but I say unto you, Love your 
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them that 
despitefully use you, and persecute you." Matt. 
5 : 43, 44. This is the spirit of the gospel. 
Revenge is as much out of place, in a Christian's 
heart, as Satan would be in the angelic ranks of 
heaven. 

But though revenge is so plainly denounced in 
the Bible, men are very slow to resist its prompt- 
ings. The first impulse, when an injury is done 
us, is to contrive a way to retaliate. " I'll come 
up with him — see if 1 don't," says the boy who 
has received an injury ; and with this cordial he 
allays the smartings of anger. " Revenge is 
sweet," to the natural heart. It is sometimes 
even dignified as noble. All of you have read 
of the revengeful, implacable temper of the In- 
dians who formerly inhabited this continent. 
They would treasure up a wrong for years, and 
follow their victim to the remotest wilderness, 
sooner than let an injury escape unavenged. They 



TEMPER. 



303 



thought revenge not only sweet, but brave and 
honorable ; and there is something of the same 
feeling yet existing, even in civilized communities. 
Two men in the State of Texas, not long ago, got 
into a quarrel, in the course of which one of them 
was fatally stabbed, The murdered man had a 
son — a boy of twelve years — who immediately 
procured a gun and shot the murderer of his 
father dead. The people in the community where 
this tragedy occurred, regarded the act of that 
boy-murderer as one of filial affection. They 
considered it a noble revenge, and justice did not 
call the lad to account for his bloody deed. But 
after all, it was a fearful crime, and no crime can 
be noble. Public sentiment was wrong — -it en- 
dorsed as noble and praiseworthy what God has 
expressly and repeatedly condemned. We see, 
from this, the importance of taking our standard 
of right from the word of God, and not from 
public opinion. 

But generally, revenge does not wear even the 
semblance of honor* It is blind, cruel, unreason- 
able, and fiendish. It often visits a slight offence, 
or a mere mistake, or even an honest discharge of 
duty, with the most terrible of punishments. 
A boy in a Southern State was whipped by his 
father for some offence, which so exasperated him, 



304 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



that he went to a neighbor's house, borrowed a 
gun, and shot his parent dead. I have said that 
revenge is blind ; I mean, that it often inflicts its 
vengeance on the innocent as well as guilty. As 
an illustration, read the account of Absalom's 
unjust and stupid revenge upon J oab, by burning 
up his barley-field, for imaginary grievances. 
(See 2 Sam. chap. 14.) But perhaps the most 
perfect instances of the cruelty, blindness and 
fiendishness of revenge, are those cases which 
have happened too often on some of our railroad 
lines, where the track has been obstructed, and 
the lives of hundreds of innocent persons endan- 
gered, for the sake of avenging some unreason- 
able grudge against the corporation or its offi- 
cers. 

How noble, on the other hand, is that dispo- < 
sition which can forgive an injury ! Says an old 
English poet, 

" The fairest action of our human life < 
Is scorning to revenge an injury ; 
For who forgives without a further strife, 
His adversary's heart to him doth tie, 
And 'tis a firmer conquest truly said, 
To win the heart than overthrow the head." < 

" Let me die," said an ancient heathen to a 



4 



TEMPER. 



305 



brother who had offended him, " if I am not 
revenged on you some time or other." " And 
let me die," was the noble reply, " if I do not 
soften you by my kindness, and make you love 
me as well as ever." A little boy, on*being tum- 
bled into the mud by a comrade, was asked why 
he did not serve his abuser in the same manner, 
when he replied, " If I should, there would be 
two suits of clothes to clean." It was a noble 
answer. It is easy to return threat for threat, 
and blow for blow, but it is noble, it is God-like, 
to forgive ! 

The faults of temper which we have been con- 
sidering, — sulkiness, fretfulness, quarrelsomeness, 
anger, and revenge,— all unfit us for the duties 
of life, and will greatly interfere with our hap- 
piness and usefulness, if they are not remedied 
in youth. " Look at that little boy," says the 
Rev. James Hamilton, " sitting down to his hated 
lesson after a burst of passion. Do you notice 
how long the same page lies open before the pant- 
ing student, and how solemnly he watches the 
blue-bottle raging round the room and bounding 
against the window ? Look at his blurred copy- 
book, its trembling strokes and blotted loops, a 
memento of this angry morning. And the sum 
upon the slate, only here and there a figure right, 

26* 



306 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



an emblem of his rebellious mind, all at sixes 
and sevens with, itself. It is guilt that makes 
him a trifler. It is guilt that makes him blunder. 
Guilt makes him wretched ; and therefore all he 
does is wrong." Thus will it be with him, through 
life, whenever he indulges in a fit of ill-temper. 
No one can play, work or study to any advan- 
tage, while such passions are stirring his heart. 

I have not forgotten that there is a great differ- 
ence in the natural temperaments and dispositions 
of people. Some are excited much more easily 
than others, and are therefore more exposed to 
these sins than those whose tempers are naturally 
calm. But the fact that you " get mad " easy, or 
are naturally provoked into fretfulnqss by trifles, 
does not excuse these faults. If these are your 
weak points, you should guard more carefully 
against them. By acquiring a command over 
your temper, you may greatly modify and improve 
it. " He that hath no rule over his own spirit 
[temper] is like a city that is broken down, and 
without walls." Prov. 25 : 28. The strongest 
passions may be conquered. Cicero remarks that 
Cyrus was never heard to speak one rough or 
angry word, during the whole period of his gov- 
ernment. And yet his temptations to anger, in 
the court and the field, must have been numerous 



TEMPER. 



307 



and great. There is reason to suppose that 
Socrates was by nature hasty and passionate ; and 
yet he obtained such control over his temper, that 
when some one boxed his ears, he only remarked 
that " it would be well if people knew when it 
was necessary to put on a helmet.'' One of the 
distinguishing features in the character of Wash- 
ington, was his wonderful calmness and evenness 
of temper. He was never seen in a passion. And 
yet close observers who were intimate with him, 
assert that he had naturally strong passions, but 
had attained complete mastery over them. In 
self-control, indeed, he has never been surpassed. 
One of his officers having offered a great provoca- 
tion on a certain occasion, Washington walked 
the room in silence for some time, until he was 
mentally assured that reason had assumed its 
sway. Were further evidence wanted of the pos- 
sibility of controlling the temper, I might refer 
you to the Quakers, who, though men of like 
passions with ourselves, are as a whole remark- 
ably free from the faults pointed out in this 
chapter. 

There are few spectacles more melancholy than 
a man of strong passions, who has grown up with- 
out learning to control himself. If his rash tem- 
per never leads him to the commission of a crime. 



308 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



it is continually plunging him into difficulties and 
troubles, to the mortification of himself and 
friends. We too often see illustrations of this 
remark on the floor of Congress, where men 
of education and influence often grossly insult 
each other, and sometimes even come to blows, in 
a momentary fit of passion, to their own subse- 
quent shame and regret, and to the disgrace of 
the whole country. No man is really fit for a 
public station, whatever his other qualifications 
may be, who cannot control his temper. Let the 
young remember this, and conquer the enemy 
while it is yet small and feeble. 



VULGARITY. 



309 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

VULGARITY, OBSCENITY AND PROFANENESS. 

More unpleasant topics—A low and degrading vice— Ob- 
scenity springs from the heart — Danger of indulging loose 
thoughts — Keep the heart pure — Vulgar language— Lasting 
impressions of impure conversation — A good rule — Vulgar 
actions — Avoid the company of the impure — Swearing — 
Dr. Hopkins— Lines by Doddridge — Anecdotes of Dr. 
Johnson and Sir Christopher Wren — Washington's orders 
against swearing — A fearful sin — A foolish habit— Its 
deplorable effects — Biting at a bare hook— Swearing low 
and vulgar — An infidel's advice — Profaneness associated 
with other sins — The boys' anti-swearing society — A 
recommendation — Half-way swearing— A habit hard to 
break up — The boy who died with oaths on his lips. 

These are not pleasant topics to speak or write 
upon, and yet they ought not to be passed over 
silently, in a book pretending to point out the 
dangers and evil habits of boyhood. Few if any 
of my readers, I trust, are addicted to these dis- 
gusting vices ; but a few faithful words of warning 
cannot harm the pure, while they may benefit 
those who have become corrupted, or who are 



310 the boy's own guide. 



wavering under the influence of temptation and 
evil example. 

One of the most melancholy sights in the 
world, is a youth whose mind has been corrupted, 
and who has become addicted to vulgar or obscene 
thoughts, language and practices. He has taken 
the very shortest road to ruin. No virtue can 
flourish, where this vice exists ; and just in pro- 
portion as the habit strengthens, will every thing 
noble and lovely in the mind of its victim decay. 
It ravages and lays waste the garden of the soul, 
and brings with it a fearful curse-— the loss of self- 
respect, the abhorrence of the virtuous, and the 
wrath of Almighty God. Would that I could 
paint this vice in its true colors, but I know of no 
language adequate to the Work. 

Presuming that my young readers all desire to 
escape a vice so low and destructive as the one in 
question, I will not dwell upon its disgusting por- 
traiture, but will proceed to give a few practical 
admonitions on the subject* And in the first 
place, it is very important to remember that 
obscenity has its origin in the heart* There the 
seed is planted, and there it becomes a living 
thing, before it has manifested itself to the world 
by word or act* Its beginning is an impure, 
wanton thought. Instead of crushing it in the 



VULGARITY. 



311 



bud, the youth cherishes it, and soon it breeds 
others worse than itself. The foul, filthy and 
offensive brood increases, until the heart is thor- 
oughly corrupted. The plague spot can no longer 
be hidden from the world. It breaks out in the 
form of vulgar, ribald language, and lewd, shame- 
less deportment. 

Young reader, guard with unwearied care 
against loose thoughts. " There is scarcely a 
more dangerous employment," says Dr. Dwight, 
" than the indulgence of a licentious imagination. 
It is an evil, to which youths are particularly 
exposed. ^ ^ # # % The imagination, 
thoughtless and unrestrained, wanders over the 
forbidden ground, often without thinking that it is 
forbidden ; and has already been guilty of many 
and perilous transgressions, when it is scarcely 
aware of having transgressed at all. In this 
manner, its attachment to these excursions con- 
tinually gains strength. They are repeated with 
more eagerness and frequency. At length they 
become habitual ; and scarcely any habit is 
stronger, or with more difficulty overcome." 

Few of us realize the importance of our Saviour's 
declaration, " Blessed are the pure in heart, for 
they shall see God." Matt. 5 : 8. We may show 
a fair exterior, but if the heart is not pure, God 



312 THE boy's own guide. 



will not endure us in his presence. Only " he 
that hath clean hands, and a pure heart," shall 
stand before Him." Ps. 24 : 4. 

M Those holy gates for ever bar 
Pollution, sin, and shame." 

If the fountain is corrupted, how can the 
stream be pure ? " Who can bring a clean thing 
out of an unclean? not one.'' Job 14 : 4. " Out 
of the heart," says Christ, " proceed evil thoughts, 
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false 
witness, blasphemies." Matt. 15 : 18. Judged 
by His holy standard, a revengeful thought is 
murder, a lustful desire is adultery. " As he 
thinketh in his heart, so is he." Prov. 23 : 7. 
We cannot, then, guard our thoughts too care- 
fully. 

Next to purity of thought, aim at purity of 
language. Avoid all coarse, gross words ; all 
double-entendres, or expressions having a double 
meaning ; all slang phrases, which are always a 
mark of vulgarity, and indicative of low associa- 
tions ; all foul-mouthed expressions, of whatsoever 
sort. " How shamefully vile," says an English 
writer, " is the language of the vulgar every- 
where, in words which are not allowed to find 
their way into books, yet which live as a sinful 



VULGARITY. 



313 



oral tradition on the lips of men, to set forth that 
which is unholy and impure." The less you know 
of this language, the easier will you find it to keep 
your heart pure, and the happier will it be for 
you in every respect. Rev. J. S. C. Abbott, in 
his " Child at Home," uses the following earnest 
language on this subject. 

" There is often conversation, among boys, of 
an indelicate nature; conversation which you 
would be very unwilling that your father or 
mother should hear. Without great care you will 
in early life get your mind so poisoned and cor- 
rupted in this way, that it will be a calamity to 
you as long as you live. You will, during all the 
years of your manhood, have cause to mourn that 
such impure words and thoughts ever entered 
your mind. There is hardly any thing I have 
written in this book, which I deem so important 
to your welfare and happiness, as a caution upon 
this subject. You cannot be too careful to avoid 
all such words and thoughts. I do entreat you, 
with the utmost earnestness, never to utter a word 
or an idea, which you would not be willing to 
repeat to your parents. You can now form no 
conception of the dreadful consequences of having 
an impure mind." Yes, better were it for you 
that your tongue were plucked out, than that it be 

27 



314 THE boy's own guide. 



prostituted to obscene language. Far better be 
mute, than vile. I feel that I cannot too strongly 
urge this duty upon my readers. Let me entreat 
you, then, to make this the inflexible rule of your 
life : — Never to think what you would be ashamed 
to speak — never to speak what you would be 
ashamed to have your best friend hear. 

Beware, also, of all those vile acts which origin- 
ate in a corrupt mind ; such as indecent cuttings 
and scribblings upon walls, fences, &c. A boy 
who can bring himself to perpetrate these outrages 
upon the public, must be polluted and hardened 
to the core of his heart. Of other still grosser 
and nameless developments of this vice, I trust it 
is not necessary to speak. " Let them not be so 
much as named among you." 

Finally, avoid the company of all who are 
given to these sins. You cannot associate with 
such without contamination, any more than you 
can take a live coal into your bosom, and not be 
burned. Before you discover your danger, you 
will find yourself " drinking iniquity like water." 
The pure in heart, who shall dwell with God, are 
those " in whose eyes a vile person is contemned." 
Ps. 15 : 4. Have no intercourse with those 
whose language or acts evince a corrupt heart. 
A poisoned atmosphere surrounds them — do not 



PROFANENESS. 



315 



venture within the circle of its deadly influ- 
ence. 

Profane swearing is another common vice 
among the young. There are few communities in 
which there is not a class of boys of "the baser 
sort," who are addicted to it. Bev> Dr. Hopkins, 
who lived in Waterbury, Conn., says, " I do not 
recollect that I ever heard a profane word from 
any of my youthful companions, for the first four- 
teen years of my life." He was singularly fortu- 
nate, in this respect, and the boys of his native 
town must have maintained a good character for 
morality. Where there is no swearing, we may 
be pretty certain there will not be much vice. 

The best and wisest men of every age, have 
given their testimony against this foolish and 
wicked habit. Says Dr. Doddridge, 

" It chills ray blood to hear the blest Supreme 
Kudely appealed to on each trifling theme; 
Maintain your rank, vulgarity despise ; 
To swear is neither brave, polite nor wise* 
You would not swear upon a bed of death ; 
Eeflect — your Maker now can stop your breath. " 

The celebrated English writer, Dr. Johnson, 
never suffered an oath to go unrebuked, in his 
presence. When a libertine, but a man of some 



316 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



note, was once talking before him, and inter- 
larding his stories with oaths, Johnson said, "Sir, 
all this swearing will do nothing for our story ; I 
beg you will not swear." The narrator went on 
swearing ; Johnson said, " I must again entreat 
you not to swear." The gentleman swore again, 
and J ohnson indignantly quitted the room. When 
Sir Christopher Wren was building the great St. 
Paul's cathedral, in London, he caused a notice to 
be affixed to several parts of the structure, to the 
effect, that profane swearing should be considered 
a sufficient crime to dismiss any laborer employed 
about the premises. Our own Washington set a 
most emphatic mark of disapprobation upon this 
vice. When he was a young man, serving as 
colonel at Fort Cumberland, he issued an order, 
expressing his " great displeasure " at the preva- 
lence of profane swearing, and threatening those 
who were guilty of it with severe punishment. 
The day after he took the command of the Revo- 
lutionary army, and again in August, 1776, he 
issued similar orders against this vice. In one of 
these orders he says : — " The foolish and wicked 
practice of profane cursing and swearing, is a vice 
so mean and low, that every person of sense and 
character detests and despises it." 

The wickedness of profane swearing is too ap- 



PKOFANENESS. 



317 



parent to need proof or argument. I never knew 
any one but an infidel to deny the guilt of this 
vicious habit. It is a breach of the third com- 
mandment, which says, " Thou shalt not take the 
name of the Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord 
will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name 
in vain." Ex. 20 : 7. It is a sin peculiarly in- 
sulting to the Most High. Were we to hear the 
name of any earthly being constantly used in a 
coarse, familiar and profane manner, and coupled 
with angry imprecations and low, vile talk, we 
could not but be pained ; but that the awful titles 
of Him " whose name is above every other name," 
should thus be impiously tossed on the polluted 
tongues of the profane, is shocking in the highest 
degree to every pure mind. " He that blasphem- 
eth the name of the Lord," it is written, "he shall 
surely be put to death." Lev. 24: 16. Such 
was the law God gave to the children of Israel, 
and it shows the fearful guilt which he attaches 
to this sin. 

Again, it is a most foolish and unnecessary 
habit. The English language has words in abun- 
dance to express the strongest emotions, without 
the aid of oath or curse. The profane word adds 
nothing to the force or point of a remark ; on the 
contrary, it weakens it, for we are naturally sus- 

27* 



318 THE boy's own guide. 



picious that a person who will swear, can also lie, 
should there be occasion for it. While nothing 
is gained, a great deal is lost, by the habit. "Ask 
yourselves," says Dr. Dwigkt, "what you gain; 
what you expect to gain ; what you do not lose. 
Remember that you lose your reputation, at least 
in the minds of the wise and good, and all the 
blessings of their company and friendship ; that 
you sacrifice your peace of mind ; that you break 
down all those principles on which virtue may be 
grafted, and, with them, every rational hope of 
eternal life ; that you are rapidly becoming more 
and more corrupted, day by day, and that with 
this deplorable character you are preparing to go 
to the judgment." Dr. Adam Clarke once im- 
pressed this truth very forcibly upon the mind of 
a fisherman, whom he overheard swearing. " Can 
you catch any fish without bait ?" he inquired of 
the swearer. " Xo," was the reply, " they would 
be great fools to bite at the bare hook." " But," 
said Dr. Clarke, " I know a fisherman who 
catches many without bait." " But who is he ?" 
said the fisherman. "It is the devil, and he 
catches swearers without bait. Other sinners 
want a bait, but the silly swearer will bite at the 
bare hook." 

Swearing is low, vulgar, ungentlemanly, inde- 



PROEANENESS. 



319 



cent, and offensive. In England, several hundred 
years ago, this vice pervaded every rank. The 
noble and mean, the rich and poor, the old and 
young, all swore, even in their common conversa- 
tion. But at the present day, the habit is ban- 
ished from good society, and is found chiefly 
among the low, the ignorant and the vicious. 
Like vulgar and obscene language, it is sufficient 
to exclude a person from respectable company. I 
was lately forcibly reminded of the truth of this 
remark, on reading the following advice from an 
avowed infidel writer : — " We would advise all 
good citizens, who are unbelievers, to avoid using 
any of those epithets which are supposed to be 
condemned under the third commandment, not 
merely on account of the unmeaningness of such 
language, but because the use of it causes relig- 
ious people and many others to infer from it that 
they are vicious and unprincipled." There is 
reason in the remark just quoted. Religious and 
moral people do infer, when they hear a man or a 
boy swear, that there is vice, and a lack of prin- 
ciple, in the heart which pours forth such lan- 
guage. And they judge right. Profaneness is 
almost always associated with other sins. Look 
among the boys of your village or school district, 
and tell me, who is the swearer ? Is it the boy 



320 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



who is always obedient, kind and gentle — who is 
never a truant from school, nor deficient in his 
lessons — who is never guilty of falsehood or dis- 
honesty — who never flies into a passion — who 
loves to make himself useful at home, and who 
may be safely trusted abroad ? No, it is impos- 
sible ; such a boy could not use a profane oath. 
But show me a lad the opposite of all this, and 
you need not tell me that he swears. It could 
scarcely be otherwise. 

Some years ago, the boys of a certain school in 
this vicinity formed an association for the purpose 
of preventing swearing, all its members pledging 
themselves not to use profane language. The ef- 
fect of this association on the school was excel- 
lent, and I mention the circumstance here, for the 
purpose of suggesting a similar remedy for the 
evil in other places, where this sin is prevalent. 
There are few schools where one or two active 
boys could not get up an association of this kind. 
I would have the pledge prohibit obscene as well 
as profane language, for these sins are intimately 
connected. The moral influence of such an asso- 
ciation could not but be valuable. It would re- 
claim many who are just falling into the embrace 
of these vices, and would more strongly fortify 
those who are at present secure from them. Will 



PliOFANENESS. 



321 



not some of my readers try tlie experiment ? I 
should be glad to hear the result of their efforts. 

All moral reformations, to be permanent, must 
be thorough. In taking a stand against profanity, 
you should avoid not only plain, direct swearing, 
but all those forms of speech which approximate 
to or resemble it. " Swear not at all," says 
Christ ; " neither by heaven ; for it is God's 
throne : nor by the earth ; for it is his footstool : 
neither by Jerusalem ; for it is the city of the 
great King : neither shalt thou swear by thy head, 
because thou canst not make one hair white or 
black." Matt. 5 : 34—36. God's name is not 
profaned by these oaths, and yet they are forbid- 
den. The use of all such expressions as " By 
Jupiter!" " By thunder!" "I swear!" "The 
devil !" &c, is prohibited by the above passages, 
as well as by the following : — " But above all 
things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, 
neither by the earth, neither by any other oath : 
but let your yea, be yea ; and your nay, nay ; 
lest ye fall into condemnation." Jas. 5 : 12. 

I will only add, that if a habit of profane 
swearing is once formed, it is very difficult to 
break it up. Oaths slip out unconsciously, when 
one has long been accustomed to swearing. I 
have heard even professed Christians use lan- 



322 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



guage which sounded very much like cursing and 
swearing, in a moment of hasty passion. It was 
probably the return of an old habit, suppressed 
for years, but not yet wholly subdued. It is not 
improbable that Peter's oaths, when he denied 
Christ, were the sudden return of a habit of his 
youth, in an unguarded and trying hour. The 
following affecting incident, related by a clergy- 
man, should impress every youth with the danger 
of falling into this awful habit. Says the narra- 
tor, " I went once to see a boy who was dying. 
Already the chill shadows had fallen upon him, 
and he could not see nor hear any thing that was 
going on around him. But he kept talking, not 
knowing what he said, and his tongue was gliding 
rapidly into his former habits of speech. He died 
cursing and swearing. He woke up, I suppose, 
in the spiritual world, while the awful name of 
God was tossed profanely from his tongue." 



THE THEATRE. 



323 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE THEATRE. 

Relation of country people to this evil— Three evenings at 
the theatre— Loose morals of actors — Character and ten- 
dency of the plays — The morals of plays — What the thea- 
tre is in France — The theatre a common resort of the 
vicious — Associations of the theatre — Its opposition to re- 
ligion — Late hours — An expensive amusement — Produces 
unnatural excitement — Testimony of Plato, Aristotle, &c. 
— Of the fathers of the church — Of Rousseau — Archbishop 
Tillottson — Bishop Collier — Rev. J. A. James— John Wes- 
ley — Theatres discountenanced by the Massachusetts 
Legislature and the American Congress — Reforming the 
stage — Danger to the young — The three young robbers 
and their first lesson in crime — A young clerk's story — 
The circus — Debasing amusement— Cruel training of 
children and animals— Death of an infant performer — 
Sailing under false colors. 

Many of those whom I address through these 
pages, will at some future time, (if they are not 
already,) be exposed to the temptations and dan- 
gers of the theatre. This is an evil confined 
principally to thickly settled places ; but as large 
numbers of lads and young men are continually 



324 THE boy's own guide. 



moving from the country to the city, where theat- 
rical amusements are common, all must feel some 
degree of interest in this subject. The fact that 
the theatres of our principal cities are mainly 
sustained by strangers, and new-comers from the 
country, shows that those who reside in places 
remote from these seductive influences, have some 
interest and responsibility in the matter. 

When a lad of fifteen, I made one visit to each 
of the three theatres then in operation in Boston. 
Those three evenings' experience satisfied me that 
the tendency of the theatre was only evil, and I 
have never since crossed its portals. I have read 
and reflected much on the subject, since, and am 
most firmly persuaded that there is scarcely 
another snare in our communities so fatal to the 
virtue of the young, as the theatre. Some of the 
reasons for this opinion I will now briefly state. 

1. Actors are usually persons of loose morals 
and low character. Nobody is surprised to hear 
that a stage-player is intemperate dissolute and 
immoral ; but who would not be astonished to 
hear of one who was eminent for a holy, prayerful 
life ? The world will never see such a curiosity. 
In the trial of the divorce case of Edwin Forrest, 
a noted actor, which attracted so much attention 
in New York, a short time since, the evidence 



THE THEATRE. 



325 



produced, and the characters of most of those who 
figured in the controversy, showed very plainly 
that the stage had not been slandered by those 
who denounced its immorality. It is said that 
Mr. Macready, a celebrated English actor, has so 
poor an opinion of the morality of his profession, 
that he permits none of his children, on any pre- 
tence, to enter a theatre, or to have any visiting 
connection with actors or actresses. Among the 
ancients, females did not perform on the stage ; 
nor did public opinion in England permit them 
to, until within about two hundred years, the 
female parts having been previously sustained by 
boys. 

2. The plays represented are often immoral. 
Some of them are throughout gross and shocking 
to a virtuous mind. Some abound in profane 
jests, and indecent allusions, and low wit. Near- 
ly all plays, when they have occasion to introduce 
a religious character, represent him either as a 
canting hypocrite, a victim of superstition, or a 
sour, crabbed and unhappy bigot. Religion is 
thus grossly misrepresented, and held up to ridi- 
cule, in many of the plays most popular among 
the theatre-going community. It is often claimed 
that the theatre is a " school of morals." Some 
plays, it is true, inculcate a good moral ; but peo 

28 



326 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



pie do not go to the theatre to learn morals, and 
if a little good is mixed with the evil, it is gener- 
ally lost upon the audience. Two gentlemen in 
Philadelphia, to test this matter, called upon 
eighty young ladies, in the course of a month, the 
morning after they were seen at the theatre. Of 
the eighty, one only spoke of the moral of the 
play witnessed the night before ; the others con- 
fined their comments to the actors, the audience, 
dresses, &c. 

Public sentiment in this country has always re- 
strained the evil tendencies of the theatre, to a 
greater or less degree. A better idea may be 
gained of what the theatre really is, by looking at 
its results in France, where the drama is in its 
glory, and where government annually appropri- 
ates a large sum to its support. The author of 
" Parisian Sights and French Principles," pub- 
lished in New York in 1852, states that there are 
in Paris, four operas, twenty-five theatres, and 
eight circuses. " The pervading character of the 
pieces enacted upon the French stage," he says, 

" is loose and corrupting They also 

pander grossly to the taste for ' double-entendre,' 
and wanton exposure of the female person. . . 
. . Constantly there are sights and allusions 
which few American female cheeks could witness 



THE THEATRE. 



327 



untinged, but which, fail to produce a correspond- 
ing emotion among the ladies of this metropolis." 
The same author remarks, that within two years 
and a half, the fall of man has been represented 
on the stage in Paris, the scene being taken from 
the Bible, and intermixed with foolish and pro- 
fane jests. The new French opera of the " Wan- 
dering J ew " is even more blasphemous, repre- 
senting as it does the resurrection, the day of 
judgment, and heaven and hell. Such is the 
stage, where it nourishes most. 

3. Persons who frequent the theatre are usu- 
ally of a low character. It is the favorite resort 
of the idle, the coarse, the licentious, and the 
vicious. Here the old rogue meets his partner in 
guilt, and here he spreads his nets for new vic- 
tims. Here the gambler and the sharper lurk in 
search of prey. Here, in many cases, the 
" strange woman," whose " steps take hold on 
hell," has a 'department set apart expressly for 
herself, where she may practice her shameless 
arts, and take captive the silly ones who come 
within her reach. There are also people of re- 
finement and respectability who attend upon the 
theatre — alas that it is so ; but their presence 
cannot make evil good, or neutralize the immoral 
atmosphere which hangs around the place. 



328 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



4. The evil nature of the theatre is apparent 
from its associations, or adjuncts. Grog shops, 
gambling saloons, and houses of infamy, spring 
up around it, and draw their sustenance in a great 
degree from it. Most theatres are provided with 
bars, where intoxicating liquors are sold openly 
and freely. In the Bowery Theatre, New York, 
which has a " shilling^ pit" for boys, there is a 
bar at which liquor is sold to children at three 
cents a glass. A late visitor to this " pit," says 
there were about seven hundred boys present, from 
seven years old upwards, many of whom drank at 
the bar. Truly, all the facilities of vice are to 
be found clustering around the theatre ; a gener- 
al assortment of amusements, to accommodate the 
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride 
of life. " The theatre," says Dr. Beecher, " is 
the centre of the valley of pollution. It is the 
general exchange, where sinners of all sorts may 
hold intercourse, and traffic in wickedness." 

5. The theatre has in all ages been antagonistic 
to the church, and is, at the present day, a great 
obstacle to the progress of religion. Theatres 
flourish most when religion is in a low state. In 
seasons of great revival, their prosperity seldom 



* A " York shilling"— 12 1-2 cents. 



THE THEATRE. 



329 



remains unaffected. The Primitive church, the 
Romish church, and the Protestant church, have 
all borne their testimony against theatrical spec- 
tacles. The church and the theatre are and al- 
ways must be natural enemies. The triumph of 
the one must be the downfall of the other. 

6. The late hours at which theatres close, render 
their influence pernicious. I have stated the ob- 
ject of amusements, in a previous chapter. If 
they are protracted too long, we overshoot the 
mark, and are injured rather than benefited by 
them. 

7. The theatre makes a demand upon the purse 
which few youths can afford to meet. It is an 
expensive amusement. Thousands of lads and 
young men have become thieves to procure the 
means of visiting theatres. 

8. It destroys a relish for business, and healthy 
amusements. The feverish excitement it produces 
in the young is very similar in its effects to that 
occasioned by intoxicating drinks. It is too 
highly seasoned to be healthy. The youth who 
acquires a taste for the theatre, soon loses his 
relish for business, for mental improvement, and 
for more innocent and useful diversions. When 
evening comes, he is uneasy if he cannot be there. 

Such are some of the reasons for shunning the 

28* 



330 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



theatre. The first five that I have mentioned, are 
the main objections — the others are of secondary 
importance. I wish ray readers now to listen to 
the opinions of a few eminent men, on this sub- 
ject. 

Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, said, 
" Plays raise the passions, and pervert the use of 
them, and of course are dangerous to morality." 

Aristotle, another ancient heathen philosopher, 
said, " The seeing of comedies ought to be forbid- 
den to young people, till age and discipline have 
made them proof against debauchery." 

Tacitus, Ovid, Socrates, Cicero, Xenophon, 
Solon, Livy, Quinctillian, and Cato, all celebrated 
characters of antiquity, bore equally strong testi- 
mony to the immoral tendencies of the theatre. 

Tertullian, Chrysostom, Cyprian, and most of 
the fathers of the primitive church, denounced 
the stage. Tertullian says : " The devil being 
asked by a Christian exorcist, in the case of a 
woman who was seized by him at the theatre, how 
he durst presume to possess a Christian, answered 
confidently, ' I had a right to do it, for I found 
her on my own ground.'" 

Rousseau, the infidel philosopher, wrote for the 
stage ; and yet when it was proposed to establish 
a theatre at Geneva, where he resided, he wrote 



THE THEATRE. 



331 



with great force against the project, on the ground 
that the theatre is in all cases a school of vice. 

Archbishop Tillottson pronounces the play- 
house to be " the devil's chapel," " a nursery of 
licentiousness and vice," and " a recreation which 
ought not to be allowed among a civilized, much 
less a Christian people." 

Bishop Collier, who published a work against 
the theatre in the seventeenth century, said that 
" nothing had done more to debauch the age in 
which he lived, than the stage poets and play- 
house." 

The Rev. J. A. James says : — " It is an indubi- 
table fact, that the stage has flourished most, in 
the most corrupt and depraved state of society ; 
and that in proportion as sound morality, industry 
and religion advance their influence, the theatre is 
deserted." 

Rev. John Wesley says, that "the stage enter- 
tainment saps the foundation of all religion, and 
naturally tends to efface all traces of piety and 
seriousness from the minds of men." 

The early settlers of New England were strong- 
ly opposed to theatrical entertainments. Theatres 
were forbidden by law in Massachusetts, until 
1793. So firmly persuaded were our fathers of 
the evil tendency of the stage, that soon after the 



332 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



Declaration of our Independence, Congress passed 
the following resolution : 

" Whereas, true religion and good morals are the only solid 
foundation of public liberty and happiness,. 

Resolved, That it be, and hereby is, earnestly recommend- 
ed to the several States, to take the most effective measures 
for the discouragement thereof, and for the suppression, of 
theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such 
other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, 
and a general depravity of principles and manners." 

Such has the theatre been, in all ages, in Christ- 
ian and in heathen countries. Such is it, at the 
present day. Its advocates, when hard pressed, 
are sure to fall back on a supposition, and tell us 
what it might be. But with this we have nothing 
to do. We know that its influence is, and always 
has been, pernicious, and this is sufficient to con- 
demn it. The attempt to "reform" the theatre 
has always proved unsuccessful. In a few in- 
stances, some of the grosser evils connected with 
the stage have been removed, but the prevailing 
tendency has still been found to be demoralizing 
and dissipating. 

My readers will observe, from what has been 
said, that the theatre is peculiarly dangerous to 
the young. Men whose characters are formed, 
and whose judgment is mature, may visit the play- 



THE THEATRE. 



333 



house occasionally without perceiving any evil 
result. But to the young, whose characters are 
yet in the moulding state, and whose judgment 
and experience are deficient, the seductions and 
fascinations of the play-house often prove disas- 
trous if not fatal. I can best illustrate this by a 
few facts. 

Not long ago, three boys, about eighteen years 
old, visited the Bowery Theatre, in New York, 
and saw the play of " Jack Shepard" performed. 
The hero of this play is a desperate villain and 
highwayman, and the moral effect of the piece is 
to exalt and glorify the wicked life he led. 
The three youths alluded to left the theatre when 
the play was over, and on the very same night, be- 
fore they went to bed, broke into a hardware store, 
and stole the weapons necessary for their use in 
entering upon a career of highway robbery ! On 
the following Monday they posted themselves on the 
road leading from Newtown, Long Island, to Wil- 
liamsburg ferry, and meeting a farmer returning 
from market, they presented their pistols, and rob- 
bed the unarmed and defenceless man of eighteen 
dollars. They were arrested, convicted, and sen- 
tenced to ten years each in the State Prison. There 
is no doubt that these boys took their first lesson in 
highway robbery from the theatre. I have heard 



334 the boy's own guide. 

of several other instances in which the exhibition 
of " Jack Shepard" has been followed by similar 
melancholy results ; and yet this immoral and 
dangerous play is frequently represented at theatres 
which claim to have been " purified and re- 
formed !" 

In Boston, several years ago, a young clerk in 
a store was detected in an attempt to obtain money 
on forged checks, and sentenced to six months in 
the House of Correction. He had always borne a 
good character, up to the time his offence was 
committed, and he gave the following account of 
the origin of his departure from the path of recti- 
tude. He had formed the habit of visiting the 
play-house, and one night, while in a lobby of the 
theatre, he overheard two counterfeiters in full 
conversation about their villanous business. Af- 
ter he had heard too much for their good, they 
discovered him listening, and then made friends 
with him — took him to a hotel, treated him to 
liquor and a supper, and coaxed him to stay all 
night, and assured him that they could put him 
in a way of making a fortune easy, if he would 
j oin them and go to New York. The next day 
they furnished him with money, and sent him to 
New York, where they j oined him the day follow- 
ing, and showed him a quantity of counterfeit 



THE THEATRE. 



335 



bills and forged notes of hand of Boston people. 
He soon became tired of his new friends, and re- 
turned home with advice and instructions how to 
forge checks of business people, whose signatures 
he had seen. The counterfeiters threatened all 
sorts of vengeance if he should betray them ; and 
by inducing him to commit a forgery which 
would be readily detected, and lead to his convic- 
tion, they very well knew that little credit would 
be given in court to his testimony, should he ex- 
pose their villany. Their scheme proved success- 
ful. The victim of their wiles followed their ad- 
vice, and was discovered ; but in consideration of 
his youth, his previous good character, and the 
circumstances by which he was led into crime, 
his punishment was made comparatively mild. 
His unhappy experience shows the danger of fre- 
quenting the theatre, which in all ages has been 
the favorite resort of the vicious and vile. 

Most of the objections that have been brought 
against the theatre, will apply with equal or 
greater force to the circus. This is a curse 
which visits country as well as city, and I would 
earnestly warn my readers against it. It is 
in some respects lower and more debasing than 
the theatre. There is nothing redeeming, nothing 
decent about it. "It sinks its actors to an early 



336 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



grave. Yet, so swift is its work of demoralization, 
that it usually quite ruins their souls first. It 
vitiates the feelings of all who yield themselves 
to the intoxication of its excitements. Under the 
mania, induced by its pomp and show, it filches 
vast sums of hard-earned money from those least 
able to part with it. Every thing about it, ex- 
cept its fine horses, is low and degrading. It 
brings two extremes together. The extreme ex- 
cellency of the horse kind is there exhibited, 
as if to show how nearly a perfect horse rises to 
the level of humanity. Upon the back of the 
perfect horse it places one of the lowest of the 
human kind, as if to show how nearly humanity, 
in its extreme depression, sinks down to the level 
of brute life." 

There is another evil connected with circuses, 
which is alone sufficient to condemn them. The 
feats which their animals and some of their per- 
formers exhibit, are acquired only by a most 
cruel process. The noble horse is tortured, to 
make it go through painful and almost impossible 
evolutions. Almost every company has one or 
more juvenile performers, who, I have been as- 
sured by one who has been connected with a cir- 
cus, are subjected to most severe cruelties by 
their heartless masters. In Birmingham, Eng- 



THE THEATRE. 



337 



land, a few years ago, a case was brought to light 
which exhibits the cruelties and barbarities to 
which such juvenile artistes have to be subjected. 
A boy, three years old, having died very sudden- 
ly, an inquest was held, and it was ascertained 
that his father was a " traveling equestrian," 
and had been training him to a number of gym- 
nastic performances. One witness had seen the 
unnatural father endeavoring to make the little 
fellow stand upon his hands, head downwards, and 
each time the boy failed to do so the father shook 
him severely, and threw him apparently with 
great force to the ground. The father himself 
stated that the child was endeavoring to throw a 
summerset, and fell on his head instead of his feet. 
The body was found to be bruised and scarred, 
by the cruel discipline the poor child had under- 
gone, and the father was committed to jail, on a 
charge of manslaughter. How can a person of 
common humanity find amusement in tricks and 
performances which have cost such a price of suf- 
fering ? 

Nothing more need be said, I trust, to induce 
the readers of these pages to abstain from this 
species of amusement. I will only add, that the 
new names the theatre has of late adopted, (being 
justly ashamed of its own), must not be allowed to 

29 



838 THE boy's own guide. 



deceive any of you. Whether called a " muse- 
um," a " lyceum," an " athenaeum" or a " saloon," 
its influence is alike demoralizing. Its true cha- 
racter may easily be seen, beneath its false colors. 
Beware of its portals, for however mean or mag- 
nificent, they are to many the gateway of ruin. 



GAMBLING. 



339 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

GAMBLING. 

Evils of gambling — The first steps to this vice — The only 
safe rule — Playing marbles — Checkers, backgammon and 
chess — Nine pins — Cards — History of a card-playing fami- 
ly — Their sad end — Betting — Pitching coppers — Lotteries 
— A passion for gambling easily acquired — It does its work 
quickly— Baxter's narrow escape from destruction. 

It will not be necessary to devote any portion of 
these pages to prove that gambling is a most de- 
structive vice. Our laws make it a penal offence ; 
the public sentiment of the whole Christian world 
condemns it ; its terrible effects are witnessed 
wherever it is practiced ; it is evil, and only evil, 
and we cannot conceive of a good man having any 
thing to do with it. Yet, alas, it is a wide-spread 
evil. In all our large cities, hundreds of upper 
rooms, closely curtained and carefully secured 
from public observation, are open at all hours of 
the day and night, where the gamester plies his 
infamous trade, and where the seductions of gay 
company, andl uxurious furniture, and the wine- 



340 THE boy's own guide. 



cup, are continually tempting the young to ruin. 
You, my reader, may shortly be exposed to this 
powerful temptation. The habits you are now 
forming, may in a great measure determine your 
fate, when the temptation comes. There are cer- 
tain steps to gambling, which are often taken in 
boyhood. Should you pass through this first 
stage, there is great reason to fear that you will 
at last become a victim of this vice, if the temp- 
ter has a fair opportunity to work upon your 
mind. But if you resolutely determine not to 
take the first step, there is little danger that you 
will ever take the last. 

Among the amusements of the young, there are 
some that have a tendency to beget a taste for 
gambling. These are the "steps" to this vice, 
already mentioned, and it is of no small import- 
ance that they be carefully guarded against. The 
only safe rule is, I think, to avoid all games of 
hazard, and all games that bear a resemblance to 
those in vogue among gamblers. The fact that 
you play these games merely for amusement, and 
neither win nor lose by them, does not make 
them harmless. If they teach you the gambling 
art, or tend to beget a passion for gaming, they 
are dangerous, and should be avoided. Let us 
notice some of these games. 



GAMBLING. 



341 



The common game of marbles is, I think, liable 
to objection, on the ground that it tends to pro- 
duce a gambling spirit. The boy who thinks it 
good sport to win the marbles of his playmates, 
and who goes about proudly exhibiting his bag 
full of gains, will have to take but a short step, 
to become a proficient in games where larger 
stakes are at issue. I do not say that it is actu- 
ally wrong to roll marbles ; but, considering the 
resemblance of the game to gambling, it is wiser 
and better to let it alone. The fact that it is a 
dirty play, and that it is very apt to end in dis- 
putes and fights, renders this advice more worthy 
of your attention. 

Such games as checkers, backgammon, and chess, 
are still more objectionable than marbles, forming, 
as they do, still longer steps towards the vice we 
are considering. The evil of these games consists 
in the habits and taste they foster, — an evil far 
outweighing any good that may be claimed for 
them. They consume time to no good purpose. 
They afford no exercise for the body, and are of 
little if any benefit to the mind. The person who 
becomes addicted to them, is in danger of seeking 
still more exciting and less innocent games, to 
gratify the passion they have engendered. 

The game of nine-pins had also better be 

29* 



342 THE boy's own guide. 

avoided, on account of its bad associations. It is 
true, it is often played without gambling, and af- 
fords good bodily exercise ; but it is and has been 
so intimately associated with gambling and dissi- 
pation, that I am inclined to think it had better 
be given up entirely to that class who have so 
long claimed it as their own amusement. 

I feel no hesitation whatever in condemning 
all games with cards. The evils of card-playing 
are so plain and unmistakable, that no consistent 
Christian will countenance this amusement in his 
house, or go into company where it is tolerated. 
Thousands of ruined men have traced back their 
fall to the card table. Let me relate an instance, 
illustrating the danger of resorting to this seduc- 
tive amusement. 

There once lived a family in Tennessee, the 
heads of which were accustomed to play cards 
with their children, (two sons and a daughter), for 
amusement. The father's business required him 
to be away from home much of the time, and on 
one occasion he wrote to the family, requesting 
his eldest son to bring him five thousand dollars. 
The young man, who was then spending his col- 
lege vacation at home, was accordingly dispatched 
with the money. " He went on board the steam- 
boat," says the account, " where he met a com- 



GAMBLING. 



343 



pany of gamblers, in the garb of gentlemen, who 
professed to be only playing for amusement. To 
this he had been accustomed, from his childhood, 
at his father's house, and thought no harm of it. 
He was solicited to play, and consented. After 
playing a few moments, they agreed to bet one 
dollar on the game. He lost, and then doubled 
his bet, and went on so, till soon he had lost 
what little money he had about him. He became 
much excited, went to his state-room and drew 
out a large package of bills, and returned to the 
table, where very soon he had lost twelve hun- 
dred dollars. He now came to the place where 
he was to leave the steamboat and go to his 
father ; but he was so intoxicated with the excite- 
ment of the gaming table, that he went on. He 
played on, and continued to lose. Several of the 
more respectable passengers tried to get him 
away. But the passion for gaming had taken 
such possession of his heart, that he was held to 
the spot, till his package of five thousand dollars 
was all in the hands of three hardened gamblers. 
Two of them afterwards won from him his watch 
and his diamond breast pin, and left him without 
money enough to buy a meal of victuals. 

" About ten days after he left, his mother 
received a letter from his father, saying that he 



344 THE boy's own guide. 



had heard nothing from him. She immediately 
took her younger son and went in pursuit of him. 
But, the only intelligence they could gain con- 
cerning him was, that he had been ruined by a 
company of gamblers. The father immediately 
started for New Orleans, in search of his son, but 
hearing nothing from him, he, in despair, took to 
drinking, and returned, after two years' absence, 
— 1 his frame worn — his cheek pale — his eyes 
wild and fevered — his lips parched — his hopes 
crushed — his very life only the motion of excite- 
ment and passion — his very soul shattered — his 
property mortgaged.' In a short time he went 
again in pursuit of his son, but returned home, 
heart-broken, and died of delirium-tremens, the 
drunkard's disease. The daughter and the other 
son both became maniacs. Thus was a whole 
family ruined, in consequence of the foolish habit 
of playing cards for amusement." 

Every species of betting should also be shunned, 
as treading hard on the heels of gambling. The 
practice of betting is foolish, immoral and cor- 
rupting. In most civilized countries, there are 
laws to restrain it. A wager is the fool's argu- 
ment. If you accustom yourself always to say 
what you mean, no one can have an excuse for 
asking you to prove your sincerity in any opinion 



GAMBLING. 



345 



you entertain, by offering or accepting a bet. I 
do not believe that even the trifling bets which 
are often made among boys, are purely innocent 
and harmless. We cannot sanction the principle 
of gambling, even in the smallest degree, without 
injuring ourselves or others. 

Pitching coppers, and all similar games, are 
forms of betting, and are therefore improper. The 
attraction of games of this sort consists in the 
risk or hazard, and in the possibility of gain — 
essential features in every species of gambling. 

Lotteries are another species of betting, and are 
now usually classed with gambling and swindling. 
Adam Smith, the highest English authority on 
the subject of political economy, says, " The 
world neither ever saw, nor ever will see, a per- 
fectly fair lottery, or one in which the whole gain 
compensated the whole loss ; because the under- 
taker could make nothing by it." The influence 
of lotteries on the public morals has always been 
deplorable, and in most civilized countries they 
are no longer tolerated. I have known boys to 
get up little lottery schemes, and to busy them- 
selves very earnestly in selling the tickets ; but it 
is an immoral and dangerous species of amuse- 
ment, and no well-meaning youth, who reflects a 



346 the boy's own guide. 



moment on the subject, will allow himself to be 
drawn into any such dishonest speculations. 

A passion for gambling is easily excited, in 
many minds ; and when once excited, it takes 
possession of the whole soul, too often driving its 
victim to ruin, madness, and the suicide's grave. 
Perhaps there is no other vice which completes its 
work of ruin so quickly as this. It is for this 
reason that I insist so strongly upon the import- 
ance of avoiding the first steps that conduct to it. 
I have heard of a young man who commenced 
playing for a button, and did not give up the 
game until he had lost nine hundred dollars — all 
the money he possessed. The excellent Richard 
Baxter, author of the " Saints' Rest," and several 
other well-known works, came near falling a vic- 
tim to the same temptation, in his early life. 
When quite young he resided at Ludlow castle 
for the purpose of receiving instruction. While 
there, the best gamester in the castle proposed to 
teach him the art of the gambler. He consented, 
and soon became quite a proficient. One day he 
had so nearly lost the game that his opponent 
be a hundred to one against him. There was 
no possibility of his winning, but by getting a 
certain cast of the dice several times. To the 
surprise of all in the room, Baxter did get the 



GAMBLING. 



347 



necessary throws, and won the game. He was so 
astonished at his own success, that he believed the 
devil aided him to win the game in order to make 
him a gambler, and under this impression he 
returned his gains, and vowed never to play 
again. But for that resolution, it is probable 
Richard Baxter's name would have perished with 
the wicked from the earth. May every youth 
who reads these pages, display the same courage, 
firmness and wisdom, when tempted by the wiles 
of the gambler ! 



348 THE boy's own guide. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CARE OF THE BODY. 

Duties due to the body — The laws of health — Eating — Dan- 
gers of gluttony in youth — Its consequences — Forbidden 
by the Bible — Bad effects of rich and luxurious food — 
Cyrus — Daniel and his associates — Franklin— Cobbett — 
Pure air — Cleanliness — Eeckless exposure to danger — 
The fatal blast — Trials of strength — Bathing — A sin 
against the body is a sin against God. 

Our bodies, as well as our minds and souls, are 
God's workmanship, and as such, deserve a por- 
tion of our care. It is our duty to protect them 
from harm and danger, so far as possible, that 
they may be used in His service, until the time 
comes for their final dissolution. Generally 
speaking, a good man can glorify God and benefit 
the world more in a sound than in an infirm 
body ; to say nothing of the superior amount of 
happiness which he will himself experience when 
in health. It is true, sickness and pain are often 
sent, in the providence of God, by way of correc- 
tion and discipline. Our bodies are exposed to 



CARE OF THE BODY. 



349 



a thousand unseen dangers, which no care of ours 
can avoid. But it is also true that nlany of our 
bodily infirmities are the result of violated phys- 
ical laws, which we have no right to disobey. 
The man who takes his own life, while in pos- 
session of his reason, commits a terrible crime 
against God and society. Something of the guilt 
of the suicide belongs, I think, to those who 
murder themselves by inches, by violating the 
known laws of health. This is not the place to 
explain and enforce these laws, and I shall only 
mention some of the ways in which they are 
most commonly violated, among persons of your 
age. The science of human physiology is one of 
great interest and importance to us all, and I 
would commend its study to those of my readers 
who have means and opportunities to pursue it. 

More diseases enter the human system at the 
mouth, than through any other of the gateways 
of the body. Indiscretions in eating and drink- 
ing, probably lay the foundation for half the 
sickness there is in the world. The young, whose 
appetites are generally hearty, and whose dis- 
cretion is apt to be small, are peculiarly exposed 
to the temptation of eating too much. And yet 
perhaps there is no age when gluttony is so dan- 
gerous to the system as in youth, Says Dr. Cul- 



350 THE boy's own guide. 



verwell, an English physician: — " The intervening 
time from ten to twenty years of age, comprises 
certainly the most important period of our lives. 
Physically, morally and constitutionally are we 
influenced ; our habits, pursuits, inclinations, 
passions and dispositions show themselves, and 
upon their regulation, direction and control, is 
based the happiness of the future man. In my 
most particular and especial pursuit, I have had 
ample opportunities of corroborating the above 
fact. At this time associations are formed which 
lay the foundations of lasting friendships, on 
which much of our future success or failure has 
to rest. Nature also effects great changes from 
boy to manhood, and consequently during the 
transition the health takes a determined form; 
either the seeds of disease are implanted in the 
young frame, or the health becomes firmly estab- 
lished, and the probability of a long and glorious 
existence is secured." 

I have seen children, who, not content with 
satisfying the demands of appetite, would liter- 
ally stuff themselves with food, if it happened 
to be a kind which they liked. In a beast, such 
conduct would not be surprising ; but those who 
have reason for their guide, ought to have some 
control over their appetites, and some pity for 



CARE OF TUB BODY. 



351 



their stomachs. Gluttony impairs the powers of 
the body, weakens the mind, corrupts the heart, 
empties the purse, and brutalizes the whole man. 
By referring to Deut. 21 : 20, you will see that 
God regards it as a great sin. Solomon says, 
" Be not .... among riotous eaters of flesh : 
for the .... glutton shall come to poverty." 
Prov. 23 : 20, 21. The parable of the prodigal 
son, who wasted his substance in riotous living, 
affords an illustration of this proverb. 

An undue fondness for luxurious viands should 
also be guarded against. This is a taste which is 
not very reputable in adults, but in the young it 
is perfectly hateful. Rich, highly-seasoned food, 
pastry, sweetmeats, &c, are a fruitful source of 
disease. Most kinds of confectionery contain 
poisonous coloring matter, and many deaths have 
resulted from this cause. A child recently died 
in this neighborhood from eating raisins, the 
skins of which are very indigestible. Richly 
seasoned food not only deranges the stomach, but 
excites the lower passions to unnatural action. 
Plain, simple food, on the other hand, will sel- 
dom be eaten to excess, and will be followed by 
no such after-pains as the glutton and high-liver 
experience. The clearest thinkers and the hard- 
est workers, in all ages, have been men who cared 



352 



THE BOY'S OWX GUIDE. 



little about dainty dishes. It is related of Cyrus, 
one of the wisest and best kings of antiquity, that 
on being invited to dine with a friend, and re- 
quested to name the place, and the viands with 
which he would have the table spread, he replied, 
" Prepare the banquet at the side of the river, 
and let one loaf of bread be the only dish." In 
the first chapter of Daniel, you will find an inter- 
esting account of certain children who lived in 
the same age with Cyrus, and who chose pulse 
and water for their diet, instead of the meat of 
the king's table. The result was, " at the end of 
ten days, their countenances appeared fairer and 
fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat 
the portion of the king's meat." 

Benjamin Franklin was through life remark- 
able for his temperance in eating and drinking ; 
and he thus explains how he formed this habit : — 
" He [his father] never talked of the meats which 
appeared cn the table ; never discussed whether 
they were well or ill dressed, or of a good or bad 
flavor, high-seasoned or otherwise, preferable or 
inferior to this or that dish of a similar kind. 
Thus accustomed from my infancy to the utmost 
inattention to these objects, I have since been 
perfectly regardless of what kind of food was be- 
fore me ; and I pay so little attention to it even 



CARE OF THE BODY. 



853 



now, that it would be a hard matter for me to 
recollect, a few hours after I had dined, of what 
mj dinner had consisted. When traveling, I 
have particularly experienced the benefit of this 
habit, for it has often happened to me to be in 
company with persons, who, having a more deli- 
cate because a more exercised taste, have suffered 
in many cases considerable inconvenience ; while, 
as to myself, I have had nothing to desire." 

Cobbett, one of the most industrious writers of 
his day, says : — " What man ever performed a 
greater quantity of labor than I have performed ? 
Now, in a great measure, I owe my capability to 
perform this labor to my disregard of dainties." 
Truly, there was wisdom in the prayer of Agur, 
" Feed me with food convenient for me," or, as 
it may be rendered, " with the bread of my allow- 
ance — such food as Thou thinkest fit to allow 
me." Prov. 30 : 8. 

Pure air is another requisite to health, from 
the want of which thousands are annually hurried 
to premature graves. Cleanliness is also very 
essential to health. " The whole surface of the 
body," says the " Manual of Morals," " should be 
often bathed or washed. The poorest child can 
do this daily, simply by the aid of a dish of 
water and a sponge. Besides its importance to 

30* 



354 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



health, there is a charm in cleanliness of which 
nothing else can supply the place. We like to 
look at one whose fresh and glowing skin gives 
evidence of a plentiful use of pure water. If the 
skin is kept clean, the teeth thoroughly brushed, 
the hair neatly combed, and the finger-nails well 
attended to, we feel a complacency in the person, 
although the clothes may be coarse, much mend- 
ed, unfashionable, and even somewhat soiled. 
But the finest dress will not prevent a want of 
cleanliness from being disgusting to us." To 
these excellent directions, should be added daily 
exercise in the open air, which is highly import- 
ant to a sound body. 

A proper care of our bodies also requires us 
to avoid all reckless exposures to clanger. Many 
of the casualties which happen to lads, are the 
result of a fool-hardy indifference to danger. 
Several boys were one day returning home from 
school, when they heard the sound of a horn, 
which they knew to be the signal of an explosion 
at a certain ledge of rock where were men blast- 
ing. Instead of heeding the warning, they ran 
directly to the scene of danger, bent on witness- 
ing the blast. "When the explosion took place, 
a shower of rocks fell among them, killing one of 
the lads almost instantly, and seriously injuring 



CARE OF THE BODY. 



355 



one or two others. This fatal curiosity which 
leads into danger, seems to be natural to many 
persons, but it is a bad trait of character, and 
should be struggled against. 

Many also ruin their health in youth by foolish 
trials of strength, such as wrestling, lifting, racing, 
&c. Boys often injure themselves, in summer, 
by bathing in the heat of the day, or when their 
bodies are overheated and fatigued ; or by going 
into water several times in the course of a day, 
or remaining in too long. A lad died in Boston, 

O O 7 

a short time since, in consequence of imprudence 
in bathing. A man was once made a cripple for 
life, and another blind, from the same cause ; and 
thousands have suffered from colds and fevers, 
which originated in this same practice. There 
are many other reckless and dangerous habits 
common among boys ; but as the subject has been 
already touched upon in the chapters on " Care- 
lessness," and on " Amusements and Recreations," 
it is not necessary to enlarge upon it here. 

Since the Bible declares that we ought to glo- 
rify God in our bodies, as well as in our spirits, 
(see 1 Cor. 6 : 20,) it is very plain that the duty 
inculcated in this chapter is no unimportant one, 
which we may observe or let alone, as we please. 
Indeed, our bodies are, or should be, " members 



356 THE boy's own guide. 



of Christ," and " temples of the Holy Ghost," 
as you will see by reading the chapter of the 
Bible just referred to. Let us remember, there- 
fore, that if we sin against our bodies, we sin 
against our Creator ; if we willfully violate the 
laws of health, we violate the laws of God. 



VAHIOUS COUNSELS. 



357 



CHAPTER XXX. 

VAHIOUS COUNSELS. 

Tobacco — The first cigar — A great evil — Tobacco injurious 
to the body — An instance of its bad effects — The young 
peculiarly susceptible to injury from its use — A stepping- 
stone to other bad habits— Filthy and disgusting — Its ex- 
pensive ness — Smoking and chewing other articles — In- 
temperance — Total abstinence the only safe rule — 
Vandalism — Vandals, ancient and modern— Marks of 
vandalism — An opposite picture — Reverence for Sa- 
cked Things — A few particulars specified— Cruelty to 
Animals — Its commonness — Reasons why we should treat 
animals with kindness — Rebukes and Correction — 
How to receive reproof — Submission to merited punish- 
ment — A father's feelings over a stubborn and unyielding 
son. 

Several dangers and duties of boyhood yet re- 
main to be noticed, which, it will be most con- 
venient to bring together into a single chapter. 
And first I wish to say a few words on the subj ect 
of 

TOBACCO. 

Among a certain class of ill-trained boys, smok- 
ing and chewing tobacco are thought to be un- 



358 THE boy's own guide. 



questionable requisites to all who would be con- 
sidered manly and independent. A few days ago, *9 
I saw a ragged, pale-faced, sorry-looking boy, 
about seven years old, puffing what was evi- 
dently his first cigar. He stood leaning against a 
house, his cheeks drawn in, his eyes red and wa- 
tery, his countenance bearing the expression of 
nausea, and altogether looking as though he were 
ready to repent of his foolish bargain. Several 
other lads, a little older, stood around, encoura- 
ging him, and anxiously awaiting the result of 
the experiment. Poor, silly boy ! He probably 
thought it was a fine, manly thing he was learn- 
ing, instead of a dirty, disgusting and unhealthy 
habit, which will prove a curse to him as long as 
he lives, if not broken up. I can hardly believe 
he would have endured the deathly nausea of that 
first cigar with such martyr-like patience, had he 
suspected the real nature of the process he was 
going through. 

There are other boys every day going through 
the same initiatory steps, under the same strange 
delusion. Some into whose hands this book will 
fall, may be exposed to the same danger. To 
such 1 would say, beware how you acquire this 
habit. The use of tobacco, whether by chewing, 
smoking or snuffing, is both a physical and a mor- 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



359 



al evil. It is only evil, and evil continually. 
The most skillful physicians in the world have 
testified to its dangerous effects upon the system. 
The most eminent men in the various other walks 
of life, — clergymen and teachers, judges and law- 
yers, men of literature, art, science and morals, — 
have denounced the use of tobacco as one of the 
greatest evils of the day. It would be difficult 
to find a candid and well-informed man, who would 
seriously deny this position, so well-established is 
the fact. Let me specify more distinctly some 
of the evil effects of this article. 

1. It injures the health. The chemist can ex- 
tract a deadly poison from tobacco. When taken 
into the system, it tends to produce disease of va- 
rious kinds, such as consumption, debility, insan- 
ity, loss of appetite, nervous and heart disorders, 
lowness of spirits, &c. " The use of tobacco," 
says Dr. Kirkbridge, in a report to the Pennsylva- 
nia Insane Hospital, " has, in many individuals, 
a most striking effect on the nervous system, and 
its general use in the community is productive of 
more serious results than are commonly sup- 
posed." The following facts were recently stated 
in a New York newspaper: 

" A few weeks ago, a youth of sixteen arrived 
in this city, to prosecute his studies with a view 



360 the boy's own guide. 



to professional life. He came from a distant State, 
and was to remain here some years. A week or 
two after his arrival, he was seized with a paraly- 
sis in both legs, which advanced upward till near- 
ly the lower half of his body was benumbed and 
apparently lifeless. The most distinguished phy- 
sicians in X ew York attended the case, but no 
relief being afforded, the unfortunate young man 
was taken on his way home, and there is but lit- 
tle hope of his recovery. The cause of his dis- 
ease is stated by his physicians to be tobacco-chew- 
ing — a habit which he early acquired, and 
persisted in to the time of his attack." 

It should be borne in mind, that tobacco is 
much more injurious in its effects upon the young, 
than it is on adults. Two or three generations 
ago, it is said, people did not commonly com- 
mence using tobacco until they were twenty-five 
or thirty years old ; and probably it did not do 
near so much mischief then as it does now, when 
most tobacco users commence the habit in youth. 
Dr. Woodward says that " the young are partic- 
ularly susceptible to the influence of such narcot- 
ics as tobacco, opium and coffee. If a man be- 
comes intemperate before he is twenty years of 
age, he rarely lives to become thirty." And far- 
ther he says, " if a young man uses tobacco while 



361 



his system is greatly susceptible to its influence, 
he will not be likely to escape injurious effects, 
that will be developed sooner or later, and both 
diminish the enjoyment of life, and shorten its 
period." 

2. Tobacco is a stepping-stone to other bad 
things. It is a letter of introduction to evil as- 
sociates. A boy with a cigar or a quid of tobac- 
co in his mouth, will not be very particular about 
his companions. In fact, he will hardly be toler- 
ated in good company, but will be compelled to 
take up with such as will receive him. He will 
naturally be drawn to the place where the 
idle and dissipated resort. A thirst for intoxica- 
ting liquors naturally follows. His lower passions 
are stimulated by the narcotic, and by the com- 
pany he keeps, and become precociously devel- 
oped. He grows irresolute in disposition, and loses 
all energy of character. One after another the 
barriers of virtue fall, and he sinks into early 
vice, and an early grave. Such is the history, 
not of all tobacco users, but of thousands. 

3. It is a filthy and disgusting habit. It is 
impossible for man or boy to indulge it, without 
making himself offensive to others. The habit of 
incessant spitting which it makes necessary, is 

% very disagreeable to well-bred people, and is $ 

31 



362 THE BOY/S OWN GUIDE. 



standing reproach, to our countrymen. No man 
of the least respect wishes to make a nuisance of 
himself, yet the habitual tobacco chewer and 
smoker does this, whenever he goes into the com- 
pany of ladies, or of those of his own sex who 
do not use the vile weed. 

4. It is an expensive habit. It is estimated 
that the tobacco used in the United States costs 
$20,000,000 annually. Dr. Coles has estimated 
that the American church expends $5,000,000 a 
year for tobacco, and less than $1,000,000 for be- 
nevolent purposes. The city of New York spends 
$10,000 a day for cigars, and only $8,500 for 
bread. Let some reader who is ready at figures, 
calculate how much money a man will spend for 
cigars in thirty years, at the rate of three a day, 
(a small allowance for a regular smoker,) at two 
cents each, and he will be surprised at the sum 
total. Add to this amount the interest, the loss 
of time, and cost of sickness resulting from the 
habit, and you will certainly agree with me in the 
opinion, that the use of tobacco involves an ex- 
travagant waste of money. 

The smoking of sweet fern, and other imitation 
cigars, and the chewing of spruce-gum, India rub- 
ber, &c, are useless and foolish practices which 
prevail among boys in some parts of the country. 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



383 



These things undoubtedly often prepare the way 
for tobacco, and for this reason, if for no other, 
they had better be avoided. 

INTEMPERANCE. 

" Total abstinence from all intoxicating bever- 
ages," should be the motto of every youth who 
wishes to pursue an honorable and virtuous ca- 
reer. Experience teaches us that there is no ab- 
solute safety short of this rule. The dreadful 
evils of intemperance, and the dangers of mod- 
erate and even of occasional drinking, are so well 
known, that I am spared the necessity of spread- 
ing facts and arguments before my readers in these 
pages. All of you know that every drunkard was 
once a moderate drinker, and that every^ moder- 
ate drinker commenced with an occasional glass 
of wine or spirit. Tou all know how easily and 
imperceptibly the habit of intemperance gains up- 
on its victim, and how rapidly yet silently he 
slides from one degree to another, himself being 
the very last person to discover his ruin. You 
all know, too, how intemperance destroys the 
body, besots the mind, empties the purse, blasts 
character and hopes, breaks the hearts of inno- 
cent and loving friends, and kindles in the soul 



364 THE boy's own guide. 



the passions and tortures of hell. Resolve, then, 
to do what you can for its suppression. You can- 
not begin too soon. Sign the pledge of total ab- 
stinence, and try to induce others to do so. Avoid 
the tippling saloon as you would the pest-house, 
and make no acquaintance with those who are 
seen hanging around it. Be firm and decided in 
your stand now, and it will be well with you here- 
after. 

VANDALISM. 

The Vandals were a nation of ferocious barba- 
rians of northern Europe, who invaded Rome in 
the fifth century, and distinguished themselves by 
wantonly destroying the beautiful works of taste 
and skill with which that city was adorned. From 
them W£ derived our word vandalism, which sig- 
nifies the wanton destruction or mutilation of mon- 
uments of art, literature, &c. 

We are not yet fully civilized ; in most parts 
of the country, there is still to be found a rem- 
nant of the race of vandals, whose barbaric man- 
ners have improved but little since Rome was 
sacked. In some places, you will find the village 
school-house, within and without, marked, scratched 
and cut in every possible way, looking as though 
the children for three or four generations had 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



365 



been striving hard to see who should deface it 
most. These young vandals, when they grow up, 
try their hand on nobler game, and you will find 
their marks written or carved on every public ed- 
ifice they visit. In the cupola of the State House 
in Boston, for instance, the names of thousands of 
these semi-barbarians may be seen. The same 
class of people seem bent on exterminating orna- 
mental trees from our streets, and monuments, 
vases, statues, and other works of art, from our 
cemeteries and public grounds. Even the hallowed 
ground of Mount Vernon is not safe from their 
ruthless hands. 

Now all this is unquestionably an evidence of 
rude and barbarous manners. I am glad to know 
that there are some places where the people are 
improving, in this respect. There are towns where 
the young are taught to respect public property, 
and to admire and cherish works of taste and 
beauty. The school-house, in such places, is free 
from all defacing marks, each scholar being anx- 
ious to preserve it from the assaults of knife and 
pencil. The graves of the dead are never dese- 
crated by rude hands. The young trees, which, 
with a kind regard to coming generations, have 
been set out in the public highways, are in no 
clanger of being mutilated, girdled, or uprooted. 

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366 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



Works of art are equally secure from abuse. 
How different is the aspect of such a town, from 
one where this taste for the beautiful has not been 
cultivated ! As the stranger passes through its 
streets, and witnesses the marks of refinement and 
taste on every hand, it seems to him that he is 
among a new and superior race. I would com- 
mend the culture of this spirit to the reader. 
Avoid all barbarous assaults upon public and pri- 
vate property, and cherish a spirit of veneration 
for works of beauty and art. 



REYES E Jff C E TOR SACRED THINGS. 

Near akin to the fault just pointed out, is that 
spirit of levity and irreverence which trifles with 
sacred things, and evinces no respect either for 
the house or ordinances of God. When you are 
in the sanctuary of the Lord, behave with pro- 
priety, and allow no disrespectful word, or act, or 
look, to evince your want of reverence for the 
place. Remember how our Saviour treated those 
who defiled the temple of Jerusalem. When 
you witness the administration of baptism, or the 
Lord's supper, be a silent and reverent observer. 
Never speak jestingly of these ordinances. Never 
use Bible language in trifling conversation, nor 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



367 



repeat a joke which contains any allusion to 
sacred things. Do not use levity in speaking of 
death, or of the future state. Let this feeling of 
reverence also extend to the Sabbath. If you do 
not love the Lord's day yourself, a decent regard 
for the feelings of others should restrain you from 
a public desecration of it. Your own good sense 
will, I am sure, approve these suggestions. None 
but a coarse and vulgar mind ever indulges in the 
faults here pointed out. 



CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 



Animals, especially those of domestic habits, 
should be treated with kindness and considera- 
tion. God has made them subject to us, but it is 
wrong to abuse the authority He has given us 
over them. This duty is very often forgotten by 
boys, many of whom take pleasure in tormenting 
and worrying the smaller animals. A lad of this 
sort not long since threw a bunch of fire-crackers 
into a sparrow's nest, on Boston Common, and 
blew to atoms the nest and a brood of young 
birds. Such unfeeling acts are a disgrace to 
human nature ; and they are so frequent among 
the young, that I have known people who had 
come to the conclusion that all boys are cruel, 



36S 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



and take pleasure in witnessing the sufferings of 
dumb animals. But this, I think, is too sweeping 
a conclusion. There are certainly some lads who 
can say, with Rev. Dr. Channing, " I never killed 
a bird, and I would not crush the meanest insect. 
They have the same right to live that I have ; 
they received it from the same Father, and I will 
not mar the works of God by wanton cruelty." 
With the same spirit, an excellent poet has said, 

" I vrould not enter on my list of friends, 
Though graced with polished manners and fine sense. 
Yet wanting sensibility, the man 
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm." 

The suffering inflicted by those who are guilty 
of cruelty to animals, is but one item in the 
account. This sin, more than almost any other, 
hardens the heart, and blunts its kindly feelings. 
Its tendency is to make us quarrelsome, vindic- 
tive and cruel. The boy who finds pleasure in 
slaying or tormenting the weakest of God's 
creatures, is in training for deeds of cruelty and 
murder. Nero, who amused himself in boyhood 
b}* pulling off the legs and wings of flies, found 
pleasure, in later years, in casting Christian dis- 
ciples into the dens of ferocious beasts, and burn- 
ing them alive at the stake. Benedict Arnold, 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



369 



the boy, was fond of robbing birds' nests, and 
mangling the young ones, that he might witness 
the agony of the parent birds. When he be- 
came a man, the same cruel and heartless spirit 
was manifested in every act, until at length he 
filled up the measure of his iniquity by turning 
traitor to his country, in a fit of revenge. Such is 
the natural effect upon the neart of cruelty to 
animals. Show me a youth who steps aside from 
his path to avoid crushing a worm or an ant-hill, — 
who cultivates kind and friendly feelings towards 
every living thing, — who; instead of worrying and 
destroying, finds pleasure in observing the curious 
habits of animals and insects, — show me such a 
youth, and I will point you to one who will make 
a kind-hearted man. 



REBUKES AND CORRECTION. 

Do not be offended, when your faults are 
pointed out. The young often take it amiss, when 
they are rebuked, instead of being thankful for 
the faithfulness which seeks their welfare. " He 
that regardeth reproof shall be honored." Pro v. 
13 : 18. " He that hateth reproof shall die." 
Prov. 15 : 10. Listen respectfully to those who 
may feel called upon to rebuke any fault in your 



370 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



character. Especially give heed to your parents 
and teachers, and others who by age and position 
are entitled to your respect and obedience. If 
you are conscious of having done wrong, do not 
add to the sin by refusing to acknowledge it. 
State the facts just as they are. If there are 
mitigating circumstances in your offence, explain 
them ; but do not seek to screen yourself behind 
excuses which your conscience tells you are false 
or trivial. Neither should you attempt to throw 
the blame of your own misconduct upon others. 
This is mean and selfisk, — no frank and generous 
youth would be guilty of such an act. Boys are 
sometimes ashamed to betray their feelings, when 
they are really sorry that they have done wrong ; 
but remember that it is never unmanly, but 
always noble, to confess a fault, and manifest 
contrition for it. Read the twelfth chapter of 
2 Samuel, and the twenty-first of 1 Kings, and 
see how David and Ahab conducted themselves 
under the rebukes of God's prophets. 

Submission to the correction of those to whose 
care you are committed, is equally important, 
though this is a duty which I trust few of my 
readers will have occasion to practice. The rules 
of the family and the school are made for the 
general good. A penalty is affixed to them, to 



VARIOUS COUNSELS. 



371 



give them authority and power. If you have 
justly incurred the penalty, offer no resistance to 
its infliction. " The rod and reproof give wisdom ; 
but a child left to himself, bringeth his mother to 
shame." Prov. 29 : 15. " Was there not birch 
enough in the forest of Fontainebleau ? " ex- 
claimed a king of France, when lamenting the 
foolish indulgence which suffered his youth to 
pass without instruction. " It is good for a man 
that he bear the yoke in his youth." Lam. 3 : 27. 
The truth of this is attested by the experience of 
every grown-up person. Those who refuse to bear 
the yoke of authority in youth, are not often 
willing to submit to it in manhood. It is true, 
" no chastening for the present seemeth to be joy- 
ous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it 
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto 
them which are exercised thereby." Heb. 12 : 11. 

" Beautiful and becoming in the eyes of the 
paternal God," says one, " is the unwearied attach- 
ment of the parent to his child. Alas, how little 
does the unthinking spirit of youth know of the 
extent of its devotedness ! There sits the froward, 
fretful and indolent boy. The care that keeps 
perpetual watch over his moral and physical 
safety, he misnames unjust restriction. The fore- 
sight that denies itself many a comfort to provide 



372 THE boy's own guide. 



for his future wants, he denounces as a sordid 
avarice. He turns from his father's face in cold- 
ness or in anger. Boy ! boy ! the cloud upon 
that toil-worn brow has been placed there by 
anxiety, not for self, but for an impatient, peevish 
son, whose pillow he would gladly strew with 
roses, though thorns should thicken around his 
own. Even at the moment when his arm is raised 
to inflict chastisement on thy folly, thou shouldst 
bend and bless thy parent. The heart loathes the 
hand that corrects thy errors ; and not for worlds 
would he use the rod of reproof, did he not per- 
ceive the necessity of crushing his own feelings, to 
save thee from thyself." 



RELIGION- — ITS NECESSITY, 



373 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

ItELIGION ITS NECESSITY. 

Importance of the subject — Eeligion a necessity — God en- 
joins it — The immortal soul requires it — Unfitted for 
heaven in its natural state — Value of the soul— Eeligion 
necessary to enable us to meet death — The youth who 
wished to " die without knowing it " — The youthful victor 
over death — Eeligion needed to live by — Life without 
religion a blank, a dream and a farce — Religion needed in 
times of trial — The young suicide — No true happiness 
without religion — Eeligion the only safe basis of a virtuous 
character — Doing right for the love of it — Capt. Parry's 
religious sailors — Eeligion essential to our free govern- 
ment — France — The churches of Pahs and Boston — Youth 
a favorable time to seek the Lord — Young infidels. 

I have reserved for the closing chapters a topic 
which far transcends all others in importance. It 
has been the aim of the foregoing pages to incul- 
cate virtuous habits, — to point out the road to 
usefulness, success and respectability. But you 
must not stop here. You have a moral nature to 
cultivate; you have sins to repent of and to 
crucify ; you have a soul to save ; you have a 
Father, whose first and greatest command is, " My 

32 



374 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



son, give me thine heart." Prov. 23 : 26. If you 
neglect these duties, (which in this chapter are 
summed up in the single word religion), though 
every other claim be scrupulously fulfilled, the 
end of your existence will not have been attained. 
May I not, then, claim your serious attention, 
while I briefly urge these duties upon your con- 
sideration ? 

It has been observed by one of the leading 
minds of our age, that " religion is a necessity to 
every honest and thinking man." There is pro- 
found wisdom in this remark. Religion is not a 
matter of taste and fancy, which we may choose 
or reject, as we please. It is absolutely essential 
to our interests and our happiness, and if we 
manage to get through the world without its 
sweet and gentle offices, it. is only by doing con- 
stant violence to our natures. Let me explain 
wherein it is necessary. 

1. Religion is necessary, because God enjoins 
it. He has a right to enjoin it; "for He is our 
God, and we are the people of His pasture, and 
the sheep of His hand." Ps. 95 : 7. That He 
does require it, we learn from almost every page 
of the Bible, " What does the Lord thy God 
require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to 
walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to 



RELIGION- — ITS NECESSITY, 



375 



serve the Lord thy God with all thine heart and 
with all thy soul." Deut. 10 : 12. This is the 
burden of both the Old and New Testaments. 
Nov/ we know that God is just and reasonable 
in all His commands, and we may be sure that 
whatever He requires, there is a reason for. We 
infer, then, from the frequency and earnestness 
with which piety is enjoined upon us, that it is a 
necessity- — rather should we say the necessity of 
our natures, in comparison with which nothing 
else can be called important or desirable. 

2. You need religion, because you have an im- 
mortal soul. That body of yours, however perfect 
and beautiful it may be, is only a vesture, which 
you will soon outgrow, and lay aside. What 
then? Ah, think upon that question; take it into 
your heart, and ponder it well. Can you for a 
moment believe that the vital spark which dwells 
in that vesture shall be extinguished like a can- 
dle, when the body draws its last breath ? Can 
you suppose that the seraphic spirit of a Payson, 
or the mighty intellect of a Webster, come to the 
same common end as the groveling swine, or the 
microscopic insect ? No, the thought is abhor- 
rent to our natures. What, then, shall become 
of that vital spark, which the Almighty has kin- 
dled within your breast? Neglected, unculti- 



376 



THE COY'S OWN GUIDE. 



vated, polluted with sin, filled with unholy de- 
sires, dwarfed down to the petty cares of this 
world, unsprinkied with the purifying blood of 
Christ, can it be transplanted to 

" those everlasting gardens, 
Where angels walk, and seraphs are the wardens ; 
Where every flower, brought safe thro' death's dark portal, 

Becomes immortal V' 5 

God has answered the question. " He that be- 
lieveth on the Son, hath everlasting life ; and he 
that believeth not the Son, shall not see life ; but 
the wrath of God abideth on him/- John 3 : 36. 
" He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and 
he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he 
that is righteous, let him be righteous still : and 
he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. 22 : 
11. " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : for 
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 
For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh 
reap corruption : but he that soweth to the spirit, 
shall of the spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. 
6 : 7, 8. * 

These solemn words, remember, are the lan- 
guage of inspiration. Let conscience apply them 
to your own soul. Ask yourself, " Am I sowing 
to the flesh, or to the spirit ? Are my thoughts 



RELIGION- 



— ITS NECESSITY. 



377 



holy or filthy, righteous or unjust ? Do I, or do 
I not, believe in the Son ?" If the answer to 
these questions condemns you, religion is to you 
a necessity which ought not to be deferred anoth- 
er day. Think of the momentous interest at 
stake. Revolve in your mind that great problem 
of our Saviour's, "What is a man profited, if 
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own 
soul ? or what shall a man give in exchange for 
his soul ?" Matt. 1G : 26. Not the mathemati- 
cal powers of a La Place or a Bowditch, not the 
financial wisdom of a Eothschild, can estimate 
the value of a soul — of your soul, my youthful 
reader. When a captain in the English navy was 
court-martialed for having lost his ship by putting 
back for a man who had fallen overboard, he de- 
clared that he considered the life of a British 
seaman of more value than any ship in his majes- 
ty's navy. But it was only the poor tenement of 
clay that was declared to outweigh in value the 
bravest ship on the sea. If such be the precious- 
ness of the temporary vesture, who dare attempt 
to estimate the value of the immortal soul within ? 
And will you cheat it out of its glorious inherit- 
ance, and consign it to endless ruin, by denying 
that religion is a necessity of your nature ? 

3. You need religion, because you must meet 

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THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



death. You must die. Did you ever take that 
thought alone with you into your chamber, and 
there solemnly contemplate it, until it became an 
overwhelming reality? Did you ever say to 
yourself, " I, too, must go down to the grave ; 
these agile limbs, this fresh and healthful counte- 
nance, these joyous eyes, must soon be gathered 
into the great congregation of the dead, who 
slumber on until the resurrection, forgotten by 
the living, and whose very monuments have crum- 
bled and mingled with the dust ?" I would not 
dampen one innocent enjoyment of your life; I 
would not needlessly summon up one gloomy 
thought in your mind. But since death is a 
reality, — since nothing can be more certain than 
that you must encounter it, — which is the wiser 
course, to drive out all thoughts of it from the 
mind till the messenger is at the door, or to think 
of it calmly and cheerfully, and prepare to meet 
it ? If you are prepared for it, death ought not 
to be a gloomy subject. With many, the hour of 
death is full of unspeakable peace and joy. Some 
have died with songs of triumph on their lips, 
even while every breath they drew was a pang. 
Whence this victory over the last enemy ? 
" Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ!" 1 Cor. 15: 



RELIGION — ITS NECESSITY. 



379 



57. It is religion that takes away the sting of 
death. 

A youth, in the full flush of health and hope, 
was suddenly arrested in his career by that fear- 
ful ravager of New England, consumption. His 
amiable disposition, his studious habits, his manly 
bearing, made him a general favorite with teach- 
ers and scholars, and with all who knew him ; 
but he had never been taught the necessity of a 
preparation for death. As the last struggle 
approached, having no divine arm to lean upon, 
his only anxiety was, to die without knowing it. 
His wish was realized. Bright visions of return- 
ing life and health deceived him to the very last, 
and his spirit passed from earth to the bar of its 
Judge, without being conscious of the momentous 
change about to take place. Do you crave such 
a death as this ? Is the thought of dying so ter- 
rible to you, that you would be deceived by vain 
hopes till the last faint breath has left your body? 
Ah, these are not the feelings of one who is pre- 
pared for death — of one who is living as he should 
live. 

Let us visit another death-bed. The youth 
who lies before you was, two years ago, as wild 
and thoughtless a boy as any I now address. 
While yet in health, God's gracious Spirit knocked 



380 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



at his heart, and was admitted. He saw his sin- 
fulness, and wept over it at the foot of the cross, 
until he heard those sweet words fall from the 
Saviour's lips, " Thy sins are forgiven." Thence- 
forward his life and conversation were blameless. 
He was not ashamed to be known to his comrades 
as a Christian, and he adorned the doctrine he 
professed. At length a painful sickness came ; 
but even in his severest agonies, no murmuring 
word escaped his lips. When racked with pain, 
he could say, " I would much rather be with 
Christ as I now am, than to be in perfect health 
without Him." When death approached, he calm- 
ly surveyed the dethroned king of terrors, re- 
joiced that he should soon be at home with Jesus, 
sent affectionate farewell messages to his friends 
and the Sabbath school, and quietly breathed out 
his spirit to God who gave it. Such is death, 
when the soul is prepared for it. 

" Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are, 

While on his breast I lean my head, 
And breathe my life out sweetly there." 

4. You need religion to live as well as to die by. 
We do not really live, until we live for God. An 
old man whom it pleased God to convert at the 



RELIGION — ITS "NECESSITY. 



381 



age of eighty, and who died at eighty-four, 
counted four-score years of his life as lost, and 
directed that he should be described on his tomb- 
stone as " aged four years." A missionary at the 
East says : " I asked an old man here, how old he 
was. He replied, ' nine years of age ; for,' added 
he, ' all the time till I knew Christ goes for 
nothing.' " To these aged men, life in sin was 
only time lost and opportunities wasted. " If I 
were to live over again," said Lord Byron, " I do 
not know what 1 would change in my life, unless 
it were — not to have lived at all." To him, life 
was not only a loss, but an evil. The elegant but 
voluptuous Lord Chesterfield, in reviewing his 
life, said, " I look back upon all that has passed 
as one of those romantic dreams which opium 
commonly occasions ; and I by no means desire to 
repeat the nauseous dose, for the sake of the fugi- 
tive dream." " Draw the curtain — the farce is 
over," were the last words of that witty trifler, 
Rabelais. Alas, to how many is life a farce — a 
dream — a blank — a curse ! Man does not know 
what he was created for, until he has felt the joy 
of forgiven sin, and learned to " do all things to 
the glory of God." 

5. You need religion, to sustain you in the 
trials and sorrows of life. Clouds and storms 



382 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



will one day gather about the bright skies which 
now bend over you. That gay and joyous heart 
will feel the crushing weight of cares and sorrows 
which you cannot now comprehend. Neglect, 
disappointment, enmity, detraction, sickness and 
bereavement, will mingle their bitterness in your 
cup. Many a strong man has found life insup- 
portable, and rushed into the jaws of death, to 
escape its trials. A young man who recentty 
committed suicide at Philadelphia, left behind 
him a letter, in which he said : — " I have beheld 
all that makes life happy pass forever away. 
Projects of fame have failed, friends have fallen 
by my side, the love of my youth has turned to 
gall in my breast, the wife of my bosom has de- 
serted and denied me, wealth has slipped from 
my grasp — all has proved but a dreary blank. 
And now, at the end of the strife, I stand alone 
upon the plain, my dead hopes strewed around in 
mockery, and nothing in the future but despair 
and death." Had the unhappy author of this 
confession known the wonderful power of religion 
in sustaining the weary, the faint and the 
afflicted, he would never have sought rest in the 
cowardly grave of the suicide. There are weap- 
ons in the Christian armory for every foe, there 
is a balm in Gilead for every wound. Only the 



RELIGION — ITS NECESSITY. 



383 



child of God can know the blessed power of faith, 
hope, patience and resignation, in smoothing the 
rough way of life. 

6. You need religion, because nothing else 
can make you truly happy. Those who seek their 
enjoyments in wealth, in fame, in learning, in 
sensual delights, or in any other worldly good, 
doom themselves to many sorrows and disappoint- 
ments. Even the few who obtain all that they 
desire of this kind of good, only experience more 
bitterly the emptiness and vanity of these things. 
The joys and consolations of religion, on the 
other hand, afford the purest happiness experi- 
enced on earth ; and it is a happiness which does 
not fail when most needed — in the hour of ad- 
versity, sickness and trouble. " I have been all 
things, and it amounts to nothing," said a Koman 
emperor, " I have tried the world," remarked 
Henry Clay, towards the close of his eventful life, 
" and found its emptiness. It cannot fill and sat- 
isfy the human mind. My dear sir, how utterly 
disconsolate should we be, without something bet- 
ter beyond the grave !" It is pleasing to know 
that the last years of this great statesman were 
blessed with the consolations of religion, and that 
he died an humble and penitent Christian. 
Blessed be Clod that there is one rock upon which 



88-4 the boy's own guide. 



we may build, where we may be secure from the 
dangers, disappointments and misfortunes that are 
the common lot of man ! " Happy is he who 
knows God," says St. Augustine, " though he 
should be ignorant of every thing else. Unhappy 
is he who knows every thing else, and does not 
know God." 

7. You need religion, as the basis upon which 
to build a good character. It is possible for a 
man to be correct and moral, in his outward de- 
portment, without being religious ; but his virtue 
is never so safe from the assaults of temptation, 
as though it sprang from religious principle. 
There is a heartiness, a power and a stability in 
the morality of the pious man, which does not be- 
long to a mere worldly morality. In battle, some 
fight from hope of promotion, some from a love 
of the excitement, some because they fear to run 
away, some because they are employed to fight, 
and some because they love the king or the cause 
they serve. These last are the only soldiers who 
may always be relied on. So men may oppose 
themselves to vicious habits from policy, or a de- 
sire to appear respectable, or a hope of gain, or 
from the force of habit, or the pressure of public 
opinion, or fear of the penalty of wrong-doing. 
All these may be easily turned aside from virtue ; 
but when a man does right because he laves right, 



RELIGION — ITS NECESSITY. 885 



and desires to please God in all his ways, he has 
the best possible basis for an upright character. 
He builds on a rock — all others build upon the sand. 

Religion makes a man better in every respect, 
no matter how virtuous and amiable he may have 
been before his conversion. Capt. Parry, the 
celebrated navigator, has left upon record the 
following observation, showing the influence of 
religion upon one class of men — -those who man 
our ships : — " I am convinced," he says, " that 
true religion is so far from being a hinderance to 
the arduous duties of the seaman, that, on the 
contrary, it will always excite him to their per- 
formance from the highest and most powerful 
motives. The very best seamen on board the 
Hecla — such, I mean, as were always called upon 
in any cases of extraordinary emergency, were, 
without exception, those who had thought the 
most seriously on religious subjects; and if a 
still more scrupulous selection were made out of 
that number, the choice fell, without hesitation, 
on two or three individuals possessing dispositions 
and sentiments eminently Christian." Similar 
testimony to the value of religion might be gath- 
ered from the representatives of every profession 
into which the civilized world is divided. 

I. I will suggest but one more reason why you 

33 



386 THE boy's own guide. 



should regard religion as a necessity, viz., it is es- 
sential to the stability of our free institutions. 
We are justly proud of our country, and our sys- 
tem of government, but there is no fact clearer to 
my own mind than this, that whatever tends to 
sap the foundations of religion, strikes at the very 
root of all we hold dear as a nation. A nation 
which governs itself, must have intelligence, vir- 
tue and piety widely diffused among its people. 
The experience of the world teaches us, that there 
is no such thing, in nations, (though there may be 
occasionally in individuals,) as virtue without re- 
ligion. Take away the key-stone of the arch, and 
the whole falls. Do you know why it is that 
France has so often attempted to throw off the 
yoke of kings, and yet always failed ? The reason 
is, it has no Bible and no religion. It has its 
priesthood and its hierarchy, its costly temples 
and imposing ceremonials, but the people know 
nothing of personal religion — of soul religion. 
The author of " Parisian Sights and French Prin- 
ciples," after describing some of the splendid 
popish temples of Paris, contrasts them with our 
own humble churches, and says : — " Boston, with 
its one hundred thousand inhabitants, has more 
churches than Paris, with its one million, and all 
of its churches combined have not cost more than 
one half the sum spent on the Pantheon alone. 



RELIGION — ITS NECESSITY. 387 



Consider the different results ! The Pantheon 
exists as a proud monument of national architec- 
ture — lifeless as its own naked vaults 

Who can correctly estimate the extent of the re- 
ligious influence of the Christian churches of Bos- 
ton ! Destroy them and substitute a Pantheon, 
and the void would be felt in the moral reaction, 
not only throughout New England, but from one 
end of the Union to the other. The religious edu- 
cation of Americans is at the bottom of their repub- 
licanism. Pantheons, Madeleines, and a ceremo- 
nial hierarchy, may gratify the taste of a people 
for magnificence, but they are a poor substitute 
for the bread of life." There is a truth in these 
remarks which cannot be too deeply impressed 
upon the mind of every American youth. Let 
vital religion die out in our land, and we may 
write "Ichabod" upon our banners, and prepare 
to follow the bloody example of France. 

Let no youth evade the force of the foregoing 
arguments, on the plea that he is too young to 
think of these things at present. True, you are 
young, and that is the very reason why I press 
them upon you. It is comparatively easy, now, 
to repent of sin, and seek the Lord. Ah, you 
little know how hard it will be, a few years hence ! 
God offers peculiar encouragement to the young, 
to induce them to fulfill this most important of all 



388 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



duties. He says, " Those that seek me early 
shall find me." Prov. 8: 17. And again, " Re- 
member now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, 
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw 
nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in 
them." Ec. 12: 1. " When I was a young man," 
said an aged but impenitent sinner, upon his death- 
bed, " I was under deep religious impressions. I 
felt it my duty to be a Christian ; but I was young. 
I deferred until a future time, and here I am 
without a hope." Such has been the sad experi- 
ence of thousands, whose " day of visitation" 
came in their youth, and was suffered to pass un- 
improved. 

" There is a time, we know not when, 

A point, we know not where, 
That seals the destiny of men 
For glory or despair." 

At an infidel festival in Boston, a year or two 
since, among the toasts drank was one offered by 
a lad of fifteen years. I lately saw a statement 
by an avowed atheist, in which he confesses that 
he commenced doubting at the age of sixteen. 
Such facts furnish melancholy proof that even 
boys may be infidels. Are they too young to be 
Christians, — too young to believe the Bible, — too 
young to give their hearts to Christ ? Let the 
thought be banished from every heart. 



RELIGION — ITS NATURE. 



389 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 

RELIGION ITS NATURE AND DUTIES. 

Eden a paradise, but not a heaven — The road from earth to 
heaven — Our parents set out on the journey— They 
turn aside, and are plunged into an abyss — Their despair 
— A new way opened to heaven — The gate, repentance 
and faith — Human speculations — God's immutable truth 
— Repentance described— It includes a reformation — Faith 
described — Entering the way of life in youth — Keeping 
the heart pure — The principles of religion to be carried 
out into daily life — How to meet ridicule and opposition- 
Fidelity in secret devotions— Reading the Bible— Attend- 
ance upon the means of grace — Doing good — Church cov- 
enant— Watchfulness— Discouragements— Dependence up- 
on Christ — Growing in grace — Promise to the faithful. 

When God created the father of our race. He 
placed him in the garden of Eden. This garden 
is very briefly described, in the Bible, but as it 
was planted by the Lord himself, and as He walked 
in it, " in the cool of the day," we need not doubt 
that it was as delightful a region as Milton has 
represented it, in his " Paradise Lost." But, af- 
ter all, it was not heaven, and I cannot suppose 
that God intended it should be the permanent 
home of Adam and his posterity, even had they 

remained holy. In reflecting on this subject, I 

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390 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



have sometimes allowed my thoughts to assume an 
allegorical form, and pictured to myself some such 
scenes as the following. 

Stretching far away from the earthly to the 
heavenly paradise, imagination saw an immense 
bridge, or avenue, which was the only way by 
which those in the lower could pass to the higher 
sphere. The name of this avenue was Obedience. 
Our first parents were directed to pass over it, 
and were warned of the danger of the slightest 
deviation from the true path ; but in an hour of 
temptation, they were induced to turn aside. The 
moment their feet crossed the boundary of the 
celestial road, they were plunged into a deep and 
dark abyss, from which there was no means of 
access, either to the heavenly city, or to their 
own sinless paradise. Far above them they could 
see the bridge, Obedience, spanning the distance 
between earth and heaven, but the hope of again 
standing upon its happy pathway was forever 
quenched in their bosoms. They had shut them- 
selves out from heaven, and henceforth there was 
nothing for them but darkness and despair. 

Our first parents were in this dreadful extremi- 
ty, when God appeared to them in mercy, and in- 
timated the opening of a new and peculiar way 
to the celestial city, intended to meet their 
especial necessity. This second avenue from earth 



RELIGION — ITS NATURE. 



391 



to heaven, — which could be opened at no less a 
cost than the labors, the sufferings and the death 
of the Son of God, — was called the way of Grace. 
Adam and Eve, as we have reason to suppose, joy- 
fully entered upon it, and passed over safely, as 
millions of their descendants have also done. 

" Part of the host have crossed the flood, 
And part are crossing now." 

The way is free for all, and ample enough for 
all. The only condition of entrance is, that all 
who would pass over must enter the " strait gate" 
at the commencement of the road. This gate is 
double, being composed of two doors, — repentance 
and faith, — both of which must open together, to 
admit the pilgrim. " Repent ye, and believe the 
gospel," are the words of Christ. Mark 1 : 15. 
Some seek to enter by other ways, but their 
efforts can result only in their eternal ruin. Oth- 
ers, beholding the costly provision of God's grace, 
suppose that all men shall somehow or other be 
conveyed over the highway of Grace, whether 
they enter the gate or not. Others still, refusing 
to enter the way of Grace, seek to climb up to 
the inaccessible road of Obedience, from which 
Adam fell, or attempt to gain heaven by some 
pathway which their own puny hands have con- 
structed. But God's word, and the order of 



892 THE boy's own guide. 



things which He has established, cannot be changed. 
Grace and Obedience, the Gospel and the Law, 
are the only two avenues from this world to 
heaven. Since all our race have sinned, none can 
ever be saved on the ground of their obedience to 
the law. The way which Christ has opened, is, 
therefore, the only hope of man ; and it is a mat- 
ter of the utmost moment to each one of us, that 
the conditions of this way be immediately com- 
plied with. Laying aside all figurative language, 
let us examine these conditions with a little more 
care. 

The repentance which the gospel requires is 
not a mere regret — such a feeling as a man might 
have who had lost a chance to make a good deal 
of money. Nor is it despair, like the repentance 
of Judas, who went and hanged himself. It is 
godly sorrow or contrition for sin, not from fear 
of the consequences, but because it is committed 
against a holy, just and merciful God, who de- 
serves our constant love and service, instead of 
our ingratitude and abuse. It was what Job felt, 
when he said, " I have heard of Thee by the 
hearing of the ear : but now mine eye seeth Thee : 
wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
ashes." Job 42 : 5, 6. It was what David felt, 
when he exclaimed, " I acknowledge my transgress- 
ions : and my sin is ever before me. Against 



RELIGION — ITS NATURE. 



393 



Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this 
evil in thy sight." Ps. 51 : 3, 4. It was what 
Peter felt, when " he went out and wept bitterly." 
It was what the publican felt, when he " would 
not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to 
me a sinner." Luke 18 : 13. God never turns 
his ear away from the cries of such. " The sor- 
row of the world worketh death," but this " godly 
sorrow worketh repentance to salvation." 2 Cor. 
7 : 10. " A broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, 
thou wilt not despise." Ps. 51 : 17. 

True repentance involves a reformation of life. 
Indeed, the original word used in the Bible 
means a change of mind. The contrite heart be- 
comes a new heart. It hates what it formerly 
loved, and loves what it hated. If your repent- 
ance does not lead you to forsake your sins, and 
to love the Bible, the Sabbath, and the company 
of the pious, — if it does not inspire you with a 
desire to honor and obey God, and to serve 
Christ, — you may be sure it is not that repent- 
ance which worketh life. There must be a turn- 
ing to God, as well as a turning from sin. 

The faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which 
accompanies saving repentance, is not a mere 
intellectual belief that such a being once existed 
on earth, and that he was a true teacher. The 



894 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



most depraved of men sometimes believe all this, 
and even more. True faith is a state of the 
heart. " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou 
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth 
unto righteousness." Rom. 10 : 9, 10. Saving 
faith is a firm, childlike trust in Christ for salva- 
tion ; a hearty acquiescence in the gospel plan of 
redemption ; a cordial surrender of the soul into 
the hands of its Redeemer. It works by love, 
and purifies the heart. Its necessity is very 
strongly insisted on, in the Scriptures. " He 
that believeth not the Son, shall not see life ; but 
the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3 : 36. 
" Without faith, it is impossible to please Him." 
Heb. 11 : 6. 

Such is a very brief description of the way of 
salvation, and of the requisites for entering upon 
it. Multitudes have set out upon this course in 
childhood and youth, and, in the opinion of many 
good men, the time is coming when the church 
will be recruited chiefly from the ranks of such. 
I indulge the hope that there will be not a few 
youthful Christians among the readers of this 
book. The remaining pages will therefore be 
devoted to a few practical suggestions to such 
youth as have entered upon a religious life. 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 



895 



1. Keep your heart pure. Remember that all 
sin springs from the heart. If you are a child of 
God, your heart will be a temple of the Holy 
Ghost, and you cannot be too careful to exclude 
whatever defileth or worketh abomination. On a 
recent occasion, when the royal family of Russia 
traveled from St. Petersburg to Warsaw, it is said 
that the road for several hundred miles was re- 
paired, and swept carefully by hand, that no filth 
or obstruction might offend the emperor. If such 
preparations are made, when an earthly monarch 
is to be entertained, how much more ought our 
hearts to be purified, when God, and Christ, and 
the Holy Spirit, deign to visit and even to dwell 
in them ! How careful should each of us be to 
keep his heart with all diligence, since out of it 
are the issues of life ! 

2. Carry out the principles of religion in all 
the acts of your life. You will be narrowly 
watched by your young associates, and if there is 
any thing inconsistent in your example, it may not 
only seriously injure the cause of Christ, but 
prove a stumbling-block to those who have never 
experienced the power of religion. Do not take 
other professed Christians as your standard, but 
let the Bible and your own conscience decide 
what is right and what is wrong. In the school- 
room, be prompt, diligent, and obedient to every 



396 the boy's own guide. 



rule ; about your work, be faithful and industri- 
ous ; on the play-ground, be fair, good-natured, 
yielding and gentlemanly. Let no one be able to ■ 
reproach you with unfaithfulness to any duty. 
Let there be no unfairness or selfishness in your 
conduct. Let not your most intimate companion 
hear an angry, or impure, or envious, or resentful 
word escape your lips. In a word, aim always to 
do right. Thus, though a lad of but a dozen 
years, you may as truly serve God as the Christ- 
ian of mature age ; and your life may be as beau- 
tiful and useful, in His sight, as that of many who 
shine in a wider sphere. 

" When we devote our youth to God, 

'Tis pleasing in his eyes ; 
A flower, when offered in the bud, 

Is no vain sacrifice." 

3. Do not be afraid of opposition or ridicule. 
You will have your trials, as every older Christ- 
ian has, but remember that these things are per- 
mitted by God, to develope and strengthen your 
Christian character. The tree that encounters 
furious tempests, will either break before the 
blast, or root itself more strongly in the earth. 
The real children of God are purified and strength- 
ened by trials ; only spurious disciples fall away, 
when storms of ridicule and opposition assail 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 



897 



them. We have all need to remember the advice 
which J oshua gave Israel, in his farewell address. 
" Be ye therefore very courageous" said he, " to 
keep and do all that is written in the book of the 
law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom 
to the right hand or to the left." Josh. 23 : 6. 

4. Be faithful in your secret devotions. . The 
day will never come, when you will have no occa- 
sion to ask help of God to meet new trials, and 
to implore pardon for past offences. In propor- 
tion as this duty is neglected, will your Christian 
character decline. The most eminent Christians 
have always been men who were mighty in prayer 
— men who spent much of their time in secret com- 
munion with God. If you would be a useful and 
happy Christian, you must imitate their example. 
Indeed, religion cannot exist without prayer, any 
more than the body can live without breathing. 
When you arise in the morning, offer up thanks 
to God, for His protecting care through the night, 
and implore Him to preserve you from sin and 
evil during the day. At night, recount the mer- 
cies of the day with gratitude, confess its sins 
with penitence, and seek your Father's protecting 
care while you close your eyes in sleep. Besides 
your regular seasons of retirement for prayer, you 
will find it an excellent habit to offer up frequent 

34 



398 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



silent petitions during the day, while engaged in 
your ordinary pursuits. 

5. Be a constant reader of the Bible. It is 
the chart by which you must steer your course. 
It is the armory from which you must draw the 
weapons of your warfare. It is a magazine of 
promises and comforts, where you will never fail 
to find succor and consolation, when in sorrow 
or trial. It has been compared to a window in 
our prison-house, which lets in upon us the light 
of heaven, and gives us a glimpse of the glories 
of the world above. 

" Say, wouldst thou livfi ? This hallowed book shall tell 
Where life's best joys and purest pleasures dwell. 
Say, wouldst thou die? Consult this sacred lore, 
Wnich points to worlds where sin can harm no more. 
Living or dying, this shall soothe each pain, 
Whimpering, * To live is Christ, to die is gain.' " 

The late Prof. B. B. Edwards, of Andover The- 
ological Seminary, read the Bible through seven 
times, and all of Scott's notes twice, before he was 
ten years of age. The acquaintance with the Script- 
ures thus early acquired, was doubtless of much 
value to him in after years, when it became the 
business of his life to expound the sacred oracles. 
His example is worthy of emulation by the young, 
especially by those who have entered upon the 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 399 



Christian life. Care should be taken, however, 
to avoid a rapid, careless habit of reading. Bead 
slowly ; let your thoughts linger over the sacred 
page ; study its meaning ; search out the precious 
mines of wisdom which lie beneath the words; 
but be sure and read a portion every day, and not 
merely on Sundays. This is the way to read the 
Bible profitably. 

6. Be attentive to all the various means of grace 
within your reach. God has given these blessings, 
like springs in the desert, to refresh his people on 
the way. Hallow the Sabbath, by laying aside all 
worldly employments and thoughts, and devoting 
the day to your spiritual improvement. Be regu- 
lar and punctual in your seat at church, both in 
the forenoon and afternoon. Go there, not to see 
or be seen ; not to hear an eloquent sermon, or 
delightful music ; not to get a good name among 
men, nor because it has become a habit with you ; but 
go there to worship God. If you live in a city, where 
there are many churches, do not wander about 
from one to another, but choose one of them for 
your own sanctuary, and make it a point always 
to be present at its regular services. Be also con- 
stant in your attendance at the Sabbath school, 
Do not suppose, as you approach the age of fifteen 
or sixteen, that you are getting to be old enough 



400 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



to leave school. You ought rather to be prepar- 
ing to teach a class yourself, and thus make some 
return for the good you have received from this 
institution. You are nearing an age when your 
presence will be most beneficial in the Sabbath 
school, even if you attend only as a pupil ; and if 
you are a Christian, you will not leave it now, 
without a good and sufficient reason. You will 
also see that your seat is occupied at the monthly 
concert, the social prayer-meeting, &c. 

7. Improve every opportunity for doing good, 
Do not fall into the error of supposing that age, 
or talent, or wealth, is necessary to enable you to 
do good. There are ways innumerable in which 
even the youngest may fulfill this duty. A kind 
and generous deed, a gentle, sympathizing word, 
an affectionate look, are very simple things, which 
all may find opportunities to indulge in ; but 
these are the very things intended when I speak of 
doing good. 

" A little word, in kindness spoken, 

A motion, or a tear, 
Has often bealed the heart that's broken, 

And made a friend sincere." 

Improve all these various little opportunities of 
doing good, and you will find that although each 
separate item may be small, the sum total at the 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 



401 



end of each week will be by no means insignificant. 
Be ready, however, to do good on a larger scale, 
whenever the opportunity offers. Do not shrink 
from a labor of love, because it demands some 
self-denial. The reward of doing good, is gener- 
ally in proportion to the sacrifice required. 

The highest aim, in your efforts to benefit others, 
will be the conversion of those over whom you 
may exert an influence. A religious book placed 
in their hands, a friendly letter, a kindly admo- 
nition, an invitation to the house of God, or a 
prayer offered for them in secret, may prove the 
little but precious seed, which shall spring up in 
their hearts, and bear fruit unto life eternal. 
" He which converteth the sinner from the error 
of his way, shall save a soul from death, and 
shall hide a multitude of sins." Jas. 5 : 20. 

But however sedulous you are in your attempts 
to do good, remember that they will be of little 
worth, if your own example is not what it should 
be. A holy life is a more convincing preacher 
than the most persuasive lips. A clergyman once 
remarked, in relating his religious experience^ 
that at a certain period of his life, he came near 
falling into infidel notions ; " but," he continued, 
"there was one argument on the side of Christian- 
ity which I could not refute, and that was, the 



402 



THE BOY'S OWN GUIDE. 



consistent and holy life of my own father." Let 
this invincible argument shine out in your life, 
and it vail give a power to every effort you put 
forth for the good of others, which can be attained 
by no other means. 

8. If you have good reason to believe that 
you have experienced the new birth, you will, of 
course, seek admission to some branch of the 
church of Christ. A public profession of religion 
is a duty which no Christian can safely neglect. 
Having entered upon this solemn relation, let it 
be your earnest and constant aim to be faithful to 
your covenant obligations. Cherish sentiments 
of affection and charity towards other members 
of the church ; attend faithfully upon its ordi- 
nances ; and seek its increase, purity, and edifi- 
cation. 

1). Be watchful against sin. Your warfare 
will end only at death. The day never will come, 
in this world, when you can throw down your 
arms, and say, " The victory is won, and the 
danger is past." Be watchful against known and 
open sin. It was David's prayer, " Keep back 
thy servant also from presumptuous sins." Ps 
19 : 13. Be likewise watchful against secret 
sins. " Cleanse thou me from secret faults." 
Ps. 19 : 12. Beware, too, of those easily-beset- 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 



403 



ting sins, which lurk around the path of every 
disciple, and become so familiar that they lose in 
a measure their evil look. Let it be your con- 
stant prayer, " Search me, 0 God, and know my 
heart ; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see 
if there be any wicked way in me." Ps. 139 : 
23, 24. And while you ask God to search your 
heart, join yourself in the work. " Examine 
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ; prove 
your own selves." 2 Cor. 13 : 5. 

10. Do not yield to doubt and discourage- 
ment. A gloomy and desponding Christian is 
far more likely to frighten others from religion, 
than to attract them towards it. There will be 
seasons when you will experience an unusually 
vivid sense of the corruption of your heart ; when 
you will relax your vigilance, or yield to over- 
powering temptation. But do not be discouraged 
by these things. Do not lower your standard, 
through despair of attaining to its topmost degree 
of excellence. Do not recall a good resolution, 
because you have broken it once, or twice, or a 
dozen times. " You should indeed be grieved 
and humbled that you have fallen, and will fall 
again, unless grace prevent ; but this, instead of 
discouraging you, should lead you to watch and 
pray more earnestly. Learning thus to depend 



404 THE boy's own guide. 

less upon yourself, and more upon divine grace, 
you will be enabled better to keep your resolu- 
tions, and they will grow stronger." 

11. Having done every thing that you can do, 
to make your calling and election sure, do not 
forget that after all, your sole dependence for 
salvation must be upon Christ. Your repentings, 
and prayers, and struggles, and acts of faith and 
obedience, are the conditions upon which you re- 
ceive the grace of Christ, and not substitutes for 
it. " By grace are ye saved." 

u No more, my God, I boast no more, 

Of all the duties I have done ; 
I quit the hopes I held before, 

To trust the merits of thy Son." 

12. Finally, grow in grace. This is the great 
duty of the Christian, and embraces every other. 
God designs that the path of the just shall be as 
" the shining light, that shine th more and more 
unto the perfect day." Pr. 4 : 18. His command 
to each of his disciples is, " Grow in grace, and in 
the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." There is no such thing as standing still 
in the religious life. If you do not advance, you 
will inevitably fall behind. When one foe is sub- 
dued, another must be attacked. When one grace 



RELIGION — ITS DUTIES. 



405 



has been acquired, another must be won. You are 
situated like an invading army in the enemy's 
country, which must either courageously advance, 
or ingloriously retreat. In the heart of every 
Christian, the principle of grace is at first a very 
small and feeble thing. It is but a spark, an 
atom, a seed. But see to it that you do not force 
it to remain thus weak and minute. The spark 
must kindle the whole soul into a pure and bright 
flame. The atom must work and spread, till it 
leavens the whole lump. The seed must grow 
into a large and fruitful tree. You must " acid to 
your faith virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and 
to knowledge temperance ; and to temperance pa- 
tience ; and to patience godliness ; and to godli- 
ness brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kind- 
ness charity." 2 Pe. 1 : 5 — 7. Aim to become 
consistent, well-proportioned Christians. There 
are in the church too many one-sided, crippled, 
maimed, disfigured and distorted disciples ; men 
and women who have indeed some grace in their 
hearts, but who have never attained the " per- 
fect stature " of Christian character. Strive to 
avoid their error. Commencing the Christian life 
in youth, before your character has been stunted, 
or moulded into an unsightly form, you may grow 
up into a symmetrical, consistent piety with far 

36 



406 



THE boy's own guide. 



less difficulty than those who were renewed at a 
more advanced period of life. But to secure this 
advantage and this blessing, you must begin early. 
Thus shall you not only greatly augment your 
own usefulness and happiness on earth, but, 
while some are scarcely saved, " an entrance shall 
be administered unto you abundantly into the ev- 
erlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour J esus 



Christ." 2 Pe. 1: 11. 





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